A Series Of Tragic Events
by HoesOvaBros
Summary: Set after episode 4.10 The characters are the same, their history is the same but what takes place is VERY, VERY different. As Brooke tries to deal with Lucas and Peyton's new relationship, Lucas begins to realise that things he thought were true aren't!
1. It’s A Long Way to Come Back From

This is my first fan fiction and I hope you like it. I have already written quite a bit of this story and know where I plan on taking it. Leave comments, I would love to read what you think, the longer the better. Well, without further ado...

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any of it's characters.

**Chapter One: It's A Long Way to Come Back From**

Brooke Penelope Davis, age 18 and senior at Tree Hill High. The rest is everything but normal. Take my parents for instance, if you'd even call them that or my life as it is at this very moment. Have you ever had one of those days when you wished you never got out of bed? I don't mean one of those bad hair days or when you say the wrong thing to this guy you've been trying to impress since like the fifth grade… I mean those catastrophic; life changing days where you seriously, with every fibre of your being wished you'd stayed in bed, even just for five more minutes! Well I had one of those today. A day I'll never get back. You see, the thing with me is that I always witnessed or should I say, heard about those life changing events, like when this boy called Jimmy Edwards brought a gun into school; I heard about the kids who were held hostage, I heard about Uncle Keith being shot and I even heard that Jimmy shot himself but… I wasn't there! Just like when my friend Peyton got shot in the leg and kissed my (at the time) boyfriend or when she kissed him in some sleazy motel, I wasn't there… I heard about it!

You see the problem with never seeing it for yourself is that your imagination makes up all these things, different possible scenarios and ways things could have happened which, probably aren't even close to what really happened but... It never stops you from wondering, making me think that seeing it, actually being there is better… or at least I thought. Today, on my life changing, never be the same again day I got to see it, I got to be there and witness it myself and never have I wished so much that I just could have heard about it instead.

The great thing about hearing about such events is that you get to be there for people and see things from a different prospective, well that's what I used to think until it hit me; maybe you don't see things from a different prospective, maybe you just don't understand. So, when thinking about my catastrophic day I begin to think about all the people who will hear about it and all the questions they will ask and I'm flooded with ideas but… then I start to wonder… who will understand, who won't hear about it because they were there; only one name comes to mind…

Mouth!

**End Notes: **_This chapter was set in the future. You will return to it, later in the story to discover exactly what happened in Brooke's catastrophic, life changing, day._


	2. The Best Way to Keep A Secret Is Not To

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any of its characters

**Chapter Two: The Best Way to Keep A Secret Is Not To Say Anything At All!**

"Mouth!"

"Mouth!"

"Mouth!" Brooke tried one more time, walking round to where he was leaning on the kitchen counter and poking him in the stomach "Now I know you love me and everything but seriously when have you ever had nothing to say unless, you came here looking for Rachel, and in that case she's out with some random guy of the week, no, make that the day" Brooke giggled to herself but stopped as she realised Mouth wasn't saying anything.

"What's the matter Mouth?"

"Do you miss Lucas?" Mouth uttered.

Brooke was totally surprised by his random question "Erm, where is this coming from Mouth?"

As if he had been frozen all this time, Mouth turned to face Brooke. "It's just after the accident you don't talk about him that much" Brooke began to walk over to the fridge, getting out a bottle of water and offering one to Mouth she said casually "Because there's nothing to talk about, he's with Peyton and I'm… not" She laughed, trying to make light of a topic which was anything but light.

Mouth nodded but Brooke knowing better went over to him and said softly "I'm glad he's okay after his heart attack and part of me is glad Peyton was there for him. I guess them two getting together was inevitable I mean, its always been me and Lucas or Peyton and Lucas and I guess when I remove myself from the equation its just Lucas and Peyton" She paused and sighed as if to convince herself and said "The way it should be. Now come on Mouth I know you didn't come round to hear me go on about the love triangle from hell… what's up?"

"It's about Lucas..." Mouth confessed "I've kinda been keeping something from him"

"Let me guess" Brooke said playfully "You're in love with him too" but Mouth didn't laugh, instead he continued "It's about the shooting" Brooke's eyes narrowed "Mouth…" she began to say, but he interrupted her "I saw who shot Keith"

"What?" Brooke was staring at Mouth intensely "It was Dan" Mouth said so quickly he didn't know if he actually said it "It was Dan, I saw him pick the gun of Jimmy's lifeless body and shoot Keith"

Brooke stepped back in shock "We have to tell Lucas and Karen, Karen's with Dan right now, he's helping her get some stuff for the baby, come on I'll drive you…"

"NO!" Brooke stopped and looked at Mouth to check he had actually said no. It's not that Mouth had shouted particularly loudly it was that he had actually raised his voice.

"What do you mean, 'no' Mouth. We have to tell someone!"

"No, we can't okay because no one is going to believe me" Brooke looked confused but just as she was about to speak Mouth continued "And I've done some stuff"

"What stuff Mouth?"

"Just some stuff. So, I begging you, please, people can't find out, not this way. We have to keep it a secret."

Brooke was starting to get anxious and began fiddling with the cutlery in the first draw "What do you mean… we? I can't do this, not to Lucas"

"We can do it; we can keep it a secret un…"

Brooke interrupted "Keep it a secret? Keep it a secret?" Her voice began to get louder "The best way to keep a secret is not to say anything at all but you've already ruined that"

"Brooke please."

"I have to go Mouth, I promised I'd help Haley out with some stuff since she's got back from hospital" Brooke grabbed her keys and headed for the door.

Mouth followed her to the door. "You won't say anything Brooke, will you, promise me."

Brooke took one look at Mouth and walked out the door, not answering the question because at this point, she honestly didn't know.


	3. Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any of its characters

**Chapter Three: Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?**

Brooke had stayed at Haley's apartment till extra late that night to try and avoid Mouth which, worked in her favour apart from the fact that she was nearly late to school today because she couldn't wake up. She had decided she was going to tell Lucas. I mean that's what a good friend would do and that's what they'd decided on being… good friends… so she had to tell him.

On her way out the house she asked Rachel if she wanted her to get her anything from school because Rachel was too hung-over to go in. Instead, Rachel was slumped over the kitchen counter with some disgusting looking concoction Rachel had made to cure her hangover.

"Hey wait up Brooke" Rachel slurred indicating she was probably still a little drunk. "Try some"

Brooke stepped away from the glass. "No thanks you can have it. Go on drink up the glass is half empty, you're nearly finished"

"Tut tut tut" said Rachel as she walked over to the couch. "You should never say the glass is half empty it should always be half full. Optimism Davis that's what you need, otherwise you'll have a bad day." Brooke rolled her eyes in response to what Rachel had just barely managed to say and left for school.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At break Brooke went to her locker preparing herself for how she was going to tell Lucas. She had thought about it all last night _Lucas we need to talk, I have something to tell you, I wish I didn't have to but…_

"Hey Brooke, I've been looking all over for you." Her thoughts were cut off by Mouth. She had been doing so well, avoiding him all day.

"Get out of my way Mouth, I'm going to tell Lucas" She began to walk at her regular fast pace.

Mouth was practically sprinting to keep up. "Brooke, please don't do this. I'm your friend and I came to you with a problem and asked you to keep it a secret. You can't betray me like that"

Brooke turned to face Mouth stopping him in his tracks "What about how I'll be betraying Lucas if I don't tell him"

"Brooke please, I trusted you, I came to you instead of anyone else. Don't you think I want to tell Lucas? Don't you think I want to let him know the truth but I know it's not the way he should find out. Dan should tell him" By now Brooke and Mouth were completely absorbed in their own conversation forgetting the fact that they were in the middle of the hall.

Brooke continued "But I have to speak to Lucas, don't you…."

Lucas appeared, right in time. "Speak to me about what Brooke?" Brooke and Mouth froze.

Maybe they were hearing things. They hoped they were hearing things, otherwise this was bad. Brooke turned around.

Nope, she wasn't hearing things, Lucas was actually there. "Lucas" Brooke smiled and reached up giving him a hug.

He looked confused by the fact that she had just hugged him more than anything else and so was she. She quickly stopped and smiled again.

"So…" Lucas continued. Brooke looked from Lucas to Mouth and from Mouth to Lucas. Mouths eyes screamed at Brooke not to say anything and Lucas, well Lucas was just Lucas with his beautiful blue eyes that made Brooke just melt inside and his smile, that gorgeous smi…. SNAP OUT OF IT!! She thought to herself. She had to tell him. "Lucas we need to talk…"

"Brooke" both Mouth and Lucas said at the same time even though both had different tones.

"I have something i…" Brooke was interrupted by Peyton. Who came up around them, going straight to Lucas and planting a quick kiss on his lips. Brooke's face dropped. She didn't notice how obvious she had been till Mouth nudged her.

"You were saying.." asked Lucas a little uncomfortable about the situation. I'm mean sure he was with Peyton and Brooke knew that, and they had decided to be friends, it just still felt really awkward.

"Erm, I..erm…I was..erm" Her mind had gone totally blank and she was starting to get really embarrassed.

"She wanted to make sure you were okay Luke" said Mouth saving Brooke from what felt like an hour of 'erm's and 'I's.

"He's fine" said Peyton stroking Lucas's arm and leaning into him. Lucas smiled at Peyton then to Brooke and even though he wasn't quite convinced that's what Brooke was going to tell him, he felt really uncomfortable about the situation and was eager to go. "I'll catch you up later" he said to everyone.

"Don't forget this.." said Peyton kissing him again.

Brooke didn't wait to see her do it again; instead she turned around and walked off. Mouth followed. "So that's a deal" he said.

"What?" Brooke asked slightly confused by everything

"I'll keep your secret and you keep mine"

"What secret?"

"That you're still into Lucas" Brooke just stared at Mouth not knowing what to say. She wanted to tell him, he was wrong but for some reason she didn't.

The bell rang and Mouth waved goodbye to Brooke as he headed for class. And just like that she was left there standing alone in the hall with what had turned out to be a bad day.

_Rachel was right_. She thought to herself. _I should have said the glass was half full…… of crap!_

**End Notes:** _Okay, so this chapter had some leyton (aka, pucas) in it and my apologies to all those who avidly hate them, don't worry your time with brucas will come._


	4. No one likes change

_Hi, sorry for the late update, there was a problem with uploading my documents._

_Thank you for all your wonderful comments!! _

_**Linkie**__, I'm glad you like it, I'm really excited about the story because it is going to be very different, the plot does thicken. _

_**Josie**__, hopefully these two chapters will tell you more about Mouth's secret…. _

_**Brucas2006**__, I'm glad you like it and I feel exactly the same about pucas, hopefully Mark will wake up and get rid of pucas once and for all, lol!_

_**Nemo123489**__, Karen doesn't know the sex of her baby yet but there is talk of baby names…_

_I decided to put up two chapters today (the second one is long), I hope you like…._

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

**Chapter Four: No one likes change**

"Heya Luke" Brooke said to Lucas as she sat herself down next to him in the library.

"Heya Brooke, I've been meaning to catch up with you, its just I've had this essay to do for Mr. Harrison's class and I…" Lucas said looking really apologetic

"Hey, no it's cool, seriously. Are you alright?" Brooke interrupted

"Yeah, I'm fine; actually I was going to ask you the same question. The other day when I saw you, you had something to tell me but then I… what was it?"

Brooke looked around catching Mouth's eye. For the past couple of days she couldn't help but notice Mouth looking over at her. As if he was keeping an eye on everything she said, regretting the fact that he had told her. She could almost feel his anxiety every time she opened her mouth to speak to someone. Brooke turned back to look at Lucas "The other day, oh I completely forgot" Brooke lied.

"Oh…" Lucas looked unsure. "Hey" Brooke continued "If it was that important I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to stop thinking about it and I obviously have so" She laughed, lying again. Lucas smiled; he remembered how Brooke had stayed up the whole night before she went to Rogue Vogue. Completely excited and anxious about what people were going to think of her designs, if she'd meet anyone famous and how she was 'totally going to kick Rachel's ass' if she made a move on him while she was gone. Lucas's short flashback was cut short by Peyton's arrival at the table.

"Hey Lucas, hey Brooke" Peyton said looking a bit sceptical about the two of them sitting together blissfully without the exchange of any uncomfortable looks "What you guys talking about?"

"Me" Brooke said quickly. Lucas burst out laughing followed by Peyton who couldn't help but laugh at her ex-best friend's response. Brooke laughed, enjoying the awkward-free moment they had just had. "Are you doing Mr Harrison's essay?" Peyton asked Lucas.

"Yeah, I am…" Lucas began, pointing down at his notes.

Seeing as Brooke didn't really have Mr. Harrison as a teacher or even know what essay they were talking about, Brooke saw this as her cue to leave. "Erm... guys I'll catch you…" Before she could finish her sentence, Mouth who had been looking over at the conversation incessantly for the last five minutes came over.

"Brooke can I ask you something quickly" Brooke frowned and gestured goodbye to Lucas and Peyton and she, followed by Mouth slowly made her way out of the library.

"I'm sorry I didn't come over earlier" Mouth apologised

"What are you talking about Mouth?"

"You, Peyton and Lucas, I know that's awkward, I should have come over quicker"

"Look," Brooke began, shaking her head. "It was awkward, but what's even more awkward is you looking over at me every five seconds. What's the matter Mouth don't you trust me?"

Mouth lowered his head. "Great" Brooke continued "Look, I know I was all set to tell Lucas before but you're my friend too and I gave you my word…" Taking a deep breath Brooke continued "So… I won't tell Lucas" Mouth nodded a little unconvinced. "Look Mouth, I appreciate that you came to me and thought no, knew you could trust me and I won't tell anyone okay you just have to tell me something"

"What?" Mouth looked up.

"What is the "stuff" you said you had done?"

Mouth paused… "It…"

"Be honest with me Mouth"

"Honestly, I hadn't done anything" Mouth lied. "I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't say anything."

Brooke looked deep into Mouths eyes and nodded, convinced that, that was it. "Okay", she said. "But don't lie to me again Mouth okay."

"I won't Mouth" Mouth said, about to walk back into the library.

"Ladies first" Brooke joked, putting her hand in front of Mouth and walking into the library. Mouth waited and then decided not to follow her in.

He had just lied again, but something told him that he couldn't tell Brooke, not yet anyway. Besides, Mouth was known as the nice, innocent guy who didn't do anything wrong and he didn't want that to change. Especially before graduation, that was not the way he wanted to be remembered. It was decided, he would keep quiet for now, and things didn't have to be different all of a sudden because of this 'secret'. Plus no one likes change anyway.


	5. I Could SO Know Nick Carter

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

**Chapter Five: I Could SO Know Nick Carter**

It had been two weeks since Mouth's revelation and although Brooke didn't feel like the world's number one friend she had gotten used to keeping the secret from Lucas. She just focused on how happy he was now and how devastated he was when he thought his old friend Jimmy had killed Keith, who knew how he would take it when he found out it was his own father.

The downside to keeping the secret however was that she was lying to Lucas, she was looking him in the face everyday and wanting to scream "Dan did it, Dan killed Keith!" but she couldn't, she was also becoming increasingly scared for Karen. When she got the chance to speak to Lucas, which was rare as she tried to avoid him as best she could, she felt ever so worried for Karen especially when Lucas would tell her about Karen getting closer to Dan. She had been feeling so guilty and could only imagine how Mouth felt….

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was 8.30pm. The time Dan Scott usually went round to Karen's to help her with… whatever he went to help with. Mouth didn't know and didn't really care as long as Dan was out the house so he could get in. Although he did feel worried allowing a murderer to walk around freely, he knew Dan wouldn't kill again, well… at least he hoped. Dan hurried out the house, a little later than usual but looking as smug as ever.

Mouth could never understand how he did it. He had been breaking into Dan's house for the last three months now, less frequently ever since he told Brooke that he knew Dan killed Keith, and not once had Dan ever shown he was affected. As Dan's car pulled out of the driveway and down the road, Mouth waited a few minutes before going along the side of the house and through the side window. For a lying, manipulative murderer; Dan really didn't have his home security in check. My guess is he didn't want the police being called round once, maybe twice every week to see words such as "Murder" painted on Mayor Dan Scott's wall. Sure Mouth wasn't a detective or whatever but he was pretty sure that the police would become a little suspicious. Just as well. He didn't want Dan to go down like that; he knew Dan would worm his way out, if he was arrested. All he'd do is get the best attorney in town, no make that the country (which he could definitely afford) or pay someone off to dismiss the charge. No. Mouth wanted to crack Dan, it had to be Dan who went to the police, it had to be Dan who would hand himself in.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Two hours earlier ……**

"_I just want to see how Karen's doing that's all" _Brooke said to herself as she made her way to Karen's café._ "You haven't spoken to her in quite a while and it would be nice to see how she's getting along, even though you know she's fine"_

Denial wasn't one of Brooke's strong points. She had tried to convince herself all evening that Dan wouldn't do anything to hurt Karen, she had also tried to convince herself that she was doing the right thing, keeping Mouth's secret but she wasn't believing either. All she wanted to do now was see Karen. Just to say hi, maybe get a coffee and talk; just make sure she was okay. Plus she had a limited amount of people to talk to these days, what with her ex-best friend being a boyfriend stealing whore.

Finally reaching Karen's Café she took a deep breath before going in, expecting to see the usual hustle bustle of this local café, except that's not what she saw. Karen was there alright, but so was her ex-boyfriend who was a cheating, lying, sweet, kind, frustrating, blue-eyed, annoying….guy she was totally in love with!

_SHIT!!_ She thought to herself. _Maybe I could turn around right now, right now, maybe they didn't see me._ Her thoughts swirling in her head. _Of course they saw you dumbass, you're the only ones here!_

The café was completely empty, apart from Lucas and Karen, who were talking across the counter. Brooke looked down at her watch, she couldn't have come that late could she.

"Brooke, hi. What a lovely surprise" Karen came out from behind the counter and gave Brooke a hug. Brooke hugged her back. She had always missed the time she had stayed at Lucas's. Even though adjusting to Karen's rules were hard at first she loved having a real mum, even if it was only for a few months, someone who cared if she arrived home late or didn't do her share of the chores.

"Did you close early or something" Brooke said looking around

"No" Karen said "Come sit down"

Brooke went over to sit next to Lucas "Hey" she said

"Hey" Lucas replied, surprised to see her here.

"So………" Brooke asked placing her purse on the counter

"Oh, there's another all ages night at Tric" Karen explained walking round the counter.

"I see, how come you're not over there?" Brooke asked facing Lucas, _Had he and Peyton had a fight?_

"I just wanted to hang out here for a little bit"

"Oh, sorry I didn't mean to intrude, I'll just…" Brooke apologised, reaching for her purse

"Hey, don't go" Lucas said "We were just going to have something to eat. You should stay"

Brooke looked at Lucas, kind of unsure about all of this. I mean Peyton was at Tric and she was here with Lucas. Karen looked from Brooke to Lucas who were both smiling awkwardly waiting for Karen to say something. "I'll just get on with that food"

"Do you need a hand?" Brooke asked.

"No it's fine, I've got it" Karen said as she disappeared round into the back, leaving Lucas and Brooke alone.

"So how did your essay turn out?" Brooke asked, hoping to break the silence

"What essay?" Lucas asked

"Mr Harrison's essay"

"Oh right, yeah I handed that in yesterday"

"Cool, well I just got this killer essay to do for him as well, haven't even started" Brooke said fiddling with the salts on the counter.

"When is it due?"

"Two weeks, but I'll probably leave it to the last minute" she joked

"Well, if you like…I could always help you with it" Lucas offered, looking at Brooke.

"Yeah, sure thanks" they both smiled. "So, I was thinking…" Brooke started

"Oh no…" Lucas teased

"Hey" Brooke giggled hitting Lucas on the shoulder.

"Sorry" he laughed "You were saying"

"Yes I was saying…" she began again, flashing Lucas a playful glare "I was thinking that when we said we'd be friends…"

"Hmm, you were thinking we should actually be friends"

"Yeah" she smiled looking at Lucas

"That'd be nice" he smiled back. Looking into her eyes he felt like there was still so much between the two of them, so much they hadn't said or didn't say, even right now.

"Hey guys, foods here" Karen said as she reappeared with their food placing it on the nearest table.

Brooke broke their gaze "Wow, this looks amazing, thanks Karen" she said as she walked over to the table and sat down, followed by Lucas who did the same.

"You welcome Brooke" Karen said, sitting down. "So Lucas and I were just talking about names for the baby right before you came in" Karen said, looking over at Lucas.

"Awh, really" Brooke looked up, really excited "What name's were you thinking of?"

"Well Keith if it was a boy" said Karen

"Awh, that's lovely" Brooke nodded

"And for a middle name Luke was thinking Samuel"

Brooke scrunched her nose "Mmmmm"

"What?" Lucas laughed "What so wrong with Samuel"

"I don't know, I was thinking of a name like… like" Brooke said looking around as if to think intensely.

"What… Carter" Lucas said

Brooke began to laugh "Yes, Carter, yes I like the name Carter"

"We are not starting this again" said playfully rolling his eyes

"What it's a good name and…"

Lucas tilted his head back "Uh, who do you know that's called Carter"

"Aaron Carter, Nick Carter…."

Lucas just looked at her. She couldn't help but laugh, she loved winding him up like that "I could so, know Nick Carter" she said. She remembered back when they were together and…..

Flash Back…………………………………..

_Lucas turned over to see Brooke lying next to him. How he loved waking up with her. She made the mornings special. "Morning pretty girl" Lucas said as placed his arms round Brooke waist kissing her on her shoulder._

"_Morning, Boyfriend" Brooke said, turning to face Lucas. She loved the mornings with him, she felt so safe in his arms and when she looked into those blue eyes, even for a few minutes she could forget about the rest of the world, her parents, and school. As if it was only the two of them._

"_I had the weirdest dream last night" she said snuggling closer to him._

"_Really?" Lucas asked, placing the tips of his hands on her check and pulling her into a kiss._

"_Really. I woke up and you were lying next to me and…"_

"_This was your dream?" Lucas asked looking at her confused. Brooke nodded_

"_That you woke up and I was lying next to you? Yeah sounds pretty strange to me" Lucas said sarcastically_

"_No" Brooke laughed, hitting Lucas playfully. "If you'll just let me finish"_

"_Okay, continue"_

"_Well, like I was saying, I woke up and you were lying next to me and I turn over to look at my alarm clock. It isn't going off or anything but I know I'm late for something. So I decide to wake you up but just as I'm doing that three kids come running in and they're saying "Daddy, daddy look at Mommy's new designs" And they hold up these really amazing sketches of couture clothes and stuff, and I'm thinking wow, I am really good and the little boy says "We just finished drawing them now" And I don't know what to say, but before I get a chance to say thanks or something.. Guess who comes in?" Brooke looked at Lucas expecting him to guess. Lucas shrugged his shoulders, for all he knew it could be Justin Timberlake who walked in so Brooke continued._

"_Jenny! Jenny walked in and get this, she's our babysitter and she's telling us she can't do Friday night because she's got something she has to do. I was going to ask her how Jake was doing but I woke up. Really woke up and that was it" Brooke smiled snuggling further into Lucas's arms "Can you believe our kids were little genius's"_

"_Hmm" Lucas paused looking around "Since when did you start defining a genius as someone who could sketch a dress"_

"_Okay, fine I get it" Brooke said putting on a innocent pouting face "You think my dream was silly" she said turning to face the ceiling_

"_No, I don't" Lucas laughed_

"_Hmm,, whatever" Brooke said continuing to pout_

""_Brooke…" Lucas said putting his arms up to her waist "Brooke…" He said, tickling her waist and stomach "Cheery, you still mad at me?"_

_Brooke tried not to laugh but he knew exactly where she was ticklish "Lucas Scott, if you don't stop… that right… now, I'm going to..." She could barely breathe she was laughing so hard "Fine" she screeched "You win, I'm not mad at you" she said catching her breath as Lucas finally stopped tickling her._

"_Oh really?" Lucas said wrapping his arms around Brooke waist._

"_Yup" Brooke giggled, snuggling further into his arms as he pulled her into a kiss. Lucas smiled at Brooke "What?" she asked_

"_What were they called?" he asked_

"_The children?"_

"_Yeah, what were their names?"_

"_I don't know. I didn't stay there long enough to find out" She said looking, once again into Lucas's blue eyes. In her dream all their children had his blue eyes. "What would you think their names were? There was a boy and a girl, what would you name the boy?"_

"_Hmm, well…" Lucas paused putting on his fake 'serious-thinking face'_

"_Luke!" Brooke hit him playfully "Come on. I always liked the name Carter"_

"_What!"_

"_Carter" Brooke repeated_

"_No" Lucas protested_

"_Carter's a great name, what wrong with the name Carter?"_

"_What isn't?" Lucas said _

_Brooke giggled "Well what name do you think Lucas"_

"_I don't know"_

"_Well, then Carter it is"_

"_No"_

"_Yep, I'm sorry.. Carter' the name, don't wear it out." She giggled. "Look Carter can have a second name and which ever name Carter likes best Carter can pick"_

_Lucas laughed, humorously rolling his eyes. "Fine, what about a girl?"_

"_Hmmm" Brooke paused trying to think_

"_I like the name Ava" Lucas said_

_Brooke smiled "Awh, that such a beautiful name. I like Ava. Ava and Carter.. perfect!"_

"_No… Not Carter" Lucas said pulling the covers over his head_

_Brooke burst into a fit of laughter. She loved winding him up like that._

End of Flash Back …………………………………

Karen just laughed. "Okay, so the second name still hasn't been decided, but if it was a girl Luke thought of the name Ava"

"Anything wrong with that name Brooke" Lucas teased

"You know I like that name Lucas" She said smiling to Lucas and herself, more to herself than anyone. She'd forgotten how much she loved hanging out with him, having fun with him.

"Right guys, while you finish up, I'm going to get us some ice-cream" Karen got up, again, but before she disappeared around the back, she turned back to look at the sight in front of her. Sure, she thought Peyton was a great girl and Lucas had, had a crush on her for a long time, but there was just something about Brooke. When Lucas was around, he seemed whole. Sure they were different; unlike Peyton who was scarily similar to Lucas but, that was it. Brooke was his other half. Karen watched as Brooke stole two French fries of Lucas's plate, sticking her tongue out before putting the fries in her mouth. Lucas just shook his head playfully.

"So, I'm guessing your mom doesn't want to know whether she's having a boy or a girl"

"Nope" Lucas said

"What about you Luke, do you want to know whether you're going to have a little brother or sister"

"I don't know, it's going to be different though. I mean with me and Nathan, it was never… we never…" Brooke turned to look at Lucas giving him a 'what's on your mind' stare "When Nathan and I first got know each other, we hated each other, I just..."

"Look Luke," Brooke began placing her hand on Lucas's arm. "You're going to make an amazing older brother okay, you are. The circumstances are totally different; you and Nathan never got a chance. He grew up learning to hate you because of something Dan did..."

Dan. His name alone made Brooke's skin crawl.

"But look what happened when you and Nathan really got to know each other, when Nathan got to know the real you, not the lie Dan was feeding him. You guys are great friends now, great brothers. And the same goes for your new brother or sister, except this time you won't have to catch up because you're always going to be his or her older brother no matter what."

Lucas just nodded looking down. Brooke knew he didn't like being vulnerable. That was the reason why he could never let her all the way in; or at least that's what she told herself. That or he didn't love her enough.

_**End Notes:**__ So this was a much longer chapter. Hope you liked it. lol. Anyway, comment and tell me what you think!_


	6. So Much For Trusting Me

_Heya, thanks for all your comments! I decided to upload two chapters again, so enjoy..._

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any of it's characters.

**Chapter Six: So much for trusting me**

_I like big butts and I cannot lie_

_You other brothers can't deny_

_That when are girl walks in with a ity bity waist and a round thing in your face you get.._

"Hello?" Mouth had mastered the art of deception and even breaking an entry but putting his cell on silence, he still hadn't quite learnt.

"Hey Mouth, what you doing?"

"Brooke?" Mouth asked

"Well, who else would it be?" Brooke teased, but Mouth didn't sound amused "Okay, well me and Lucas were going to go catch a movie and we were wondering if you wanted to come"

"Can't. I'm busy, so if that was all then.."

"Wait. What's wrong Mouth?" Brooke asked

"Nothing" Mouth replied trying to end the conversation as soon as possible.

"There's something wrong, tell me. I'm not putting down this phone until you tell me, better still I will march over to your house right now and force you to tell me!" Brooke teased.

"No!" She couldn't go over to his house. He wasn't there, he was here at Dan's house._ Crap. Think of something; anything, just tell her the truth. Yep, just say, I can't go out with you now because I'm at Dan's house right now painting the word 'murderer' on his wall. This isn't the first time I've done it. No, it isn't. I do it once a week, twice a week before I told you. Hoping that Dan would come to his senses and hand himself in. _"Brooke, I…" Mouth began.

"What Mouth?"

"I'd just rather not spend an evening with you and Lucas where all we are going to be doing is lying to his face"

"What?"

"You heard me" Mouth said, rolling his eyes at how unnecessarily rude he had just been. But he had to be cruel to be kind, Brooke couldn't find out, not now.

"This was your idea, your secret" Brooke said whispering.

"It's as much my secret as it is yours now"

"Mouth?" _Why was he saying all these horrible things? They were true but it didn't make it any nicer to hear._

"Where's Peyton anyway?" Mouth said, knowing the question would irritate Brooke "You know the other person in your relationship with Lucas"

"Bye, Mouth" Brooke put the phone down. What was up with Mouth? He was never that mean. Even though most of what he was saying was true, there was just something about his urgency to get off the phone. Like all he wanted to do was get rid of her.

"Brooke?" Brooke turned around to face Lucas, who was rubbing his hands together. It was cold outside but I guess she hasn't noticed. "What did he say?" Lucas asked.

"Erm, he sounded really weird on the phone" She said more to herself than Lucas. "He can't come"

"Oh, okay well then I guess you get to pick the movie" Lucas smiled.

Brooke tried to smile back but all she could hear was Mouth.

"_All we are going to be doing is lying to his face" _

"_Where's Peyton anyway? You know the other person in your relationship with Lucas"_

"I don't know if that's such a good idea Lucas" Brooke said, looking around uneasily.

"What do you mean? We said we were going to be friends"

"Yeah, we are and I really want that. But we're not just friends are we?" She took a deep breath "Look, when we together, you and Peyton were just friends but I wouldn't have been very pleased to have heard you guys went to see a movie alone together"

"But nothings going to happen" Lucas said stepping forward

"I know that but..."

"And its different, Peyton trusts me" Lucas said, not thinking of the implications of his words.

_What? Did he just say that? _"And what, I didn't trust you?" Brooke asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Well…I… it's just….No you didn't!" Lucas said, raising his voice.

"Well, I wonder why!!" Brooke was now shouting back. The conversion had taken a slight detour. She didn't expect to end the evening like this. Arguing. And about no one other than Peyton, his precious Peyton and Brooke's 'trust issues'. She just looked at him, tired. His face mirrored hers.

"I'm going to go Lucas, tell Karen thanks so much for dinner"

"Brooke, wait…"

"Bye Lucas" Brooke turned and walked away. She was frustrated with Lucas, frustrated with herself and with Mouth. Mouth? What was his problem? This was totally his fault, putting all those ideas in her head. Whatever his problem was she was definitely going to find out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brooke was all prepared to tell Mouth how much of a jerk he had been on the phone an fill him in on the argument he had caused between her and Lucas, as she walked down onto his driveway. She knew exactly what she was gong to say, she had had lots of time to think about it when she had stopped at MegaIce, earlier that evening. After her fight with Lucas, it had made sense at the time; ice-cream usually made her feel better about anything, but as she continued to walk towards Mouth's house, she felt the cold wind brush against her chest and the goose bumps up her arms indicating that ice-cream probably wasn't the best choice.

Despite that, she still had to give Mouth a good telling off. She had thought of three very good arguments _"Why would you make me feel horrible for keeping this secret when you're the one who begged me not to say anything"_ or _"Why did you have to make me argue with Lucas. When we had been having such a great evening"_ or_ "Why did it always come down to trust and Peyton". _Okay so maybe she needed to ask herself the last two questions but she was still pretty mad with Mouth.

Just as Brooke got closer to the house she heard an awfully familiar bell sound. _Mouth's bike?_ she thought. But it couldn't be, because Mouth was at home. He had to be at home, because she had spoken to him earlier today, however now that she thought about it more carefully she remembered she had called his cell, so he wasn't necessarily home. Brooke quickly ran behind one of the carefully groomed rose bushes which sat at either side of Mouth's house.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few more minutes and Mouth would be home. He had had a long night and all he wanted to do is go to bed. That and ring Brooke to apologies for snapping at her on the phone. He had been thinking about what he had said the whole bike ride home. It wasn't fair that he had criticised her for keeping a secret he begged her to keep. He didn't want Brooke to start to regret keeping the secret.

Finally Mouth pulled up onto his footpath, sliding off his bike and walking it towards his front door. At that moment his mobile rang…

_I like big butts and I cannot lie_

_You other brothers can't deny_

_That when are girl walks in with and ity bity waist…_

Brooke, who was hiding behind the rose bushes, rolled her eyes at the sound of his ring tone, slowly making her way to the back of his house.

"Hello" Mouth said as he finally retrieved his mobile from his huge rucksack.

"Hi, Mouth. It's Brooke!"

"Brooke, hey. I was meaning to call you."

"You were?" Brooke said sarcastically. This would be good, maybe he was planning on explaining why he lied to her or why he had bitten her head off earlier.

"Yeah, I was." Mouth continued "I wanted to say, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier, its just I had a… really bad headache and…"

"Well…" Brooke paused. What a pathetic excuse, a headache. A headache! She deserved more than 'a bad headache' excuse. "Okay, then I forgive you I guess. You feeling better now" Brooke replied faking her concern.

"Yeah, I think I'm just going to take some aspirin and go to sleep"

"Awh, you poor thing" Brooke said rolling her eyes "I won't keep you" she continued, just about to say goodbye before she remembered "What have you been doing all night?" She asked "You know, anything that could have caused your headache" _Anything like lying to you friend?_ She thought to herself.

"I don't think so, I've been trying to do Mr Harrison's essay all night so I'm probably just tired out from that" Mouth lied.

"But that's due in two weeks; you spent the whole evening doing it?"

"You know me Brooke, I just wanted to get it out the way"

"Yeah, I do know you" _I know that you're lying to me RIGHT NOW! _"Well, night Mouth. Hope you feel better"

"Thanks Brooke. See you at school tomorrow"

"See ya" Brooke said, grinning to herself as she made her way back towards the rose bush at the front of the house. She was planning on popping out right now, and confronting Mouth. She was getting closer to the front of the house and her excitement was taking over, she began walking faster. Mouth was going to be SO shocked and have a LOT of explaining to do, but he totally deserved it. And the look on his face would be priceless, she thought to herself. Just as she was about to pop out she heard a familiar voice.

"Mouth!" A loud call could be heard coming from the top of the road. Brooke peaked out to see who it was, just as Mouth also turned round.

"Lucas!" Mouth called back. Lucas could be seen walking casually down Mouth's street towards Mouth's house.

"Lucas?" Brooke whispered to herself. What on earth was he doing here. "Crap!" She whispered, ducking down behind the rose bush again.

"Lucas what are you doing here?" Mouth called out, throwing his rucksack, over the rosebush at the front of his house.

Brooke nearly had a heart attack as she saw a large object fly over the bushes. The rucksack just about missed her head. _Oh my god!_ She thought to herself.

"Hey man" Lucas said as he approached Mouth. "What you doing out here?"

"Oh, I was just going to take a ride, you know clear my mind, get some fresh air"

"You alright Mouth? It's just Brooke told me you couldn't come out with us earlier, everything alright?" Lucas asked

"Yeah, I just had a bad headache" Mouth lied again. Brooke rolled her eyes, listening intently to every word. She had to give Mouth some credit; at least he was consistent with his lies.

"Cool, well I just came to check on you, I went to Brooke's to apologies but I don't think she was in" Lucas said

"Oh really? Maybe she's round at Haley's…What happened between the two of you?" Mouth asked. Brooke listened carefully.

"We kinda got into an argument about going to the cinema, except it wasn't really about the cinema, it was about …when were going out and… how she couldn't trust me" Lucas said still confused about the whole thing.

"How did talking about the cinema turn into that?" Mouth felt guilty. Remembering what he had said to Brooke _"Where's Peyton anyway? You know the other person in your relationship with Lucas". _He knew exactly why the conversation had taken a drastic change.

"I don't know, all I know is it sucks because we were having such a good time. I mean it feels like forever since I've been able to hangout with Brooke and talk to her, just be around her properly without anything else..." Lucas stopped. Why was he so bummed about arguing with Brooke, I mean, sure it wasn't nice but friends fought all the time right. Why was he so gutted that he didn't get to walk her home, and talk to her about anything and see her smile as he let her choose the movie like he always did or watch her tear up at the end of yet another chick flick. All those things were really little and probably sounded pretty stupid but he missed them, he missed her. "Do you think I should call her?" Lucas asked Mouth.

"I don't know, maybe you should leave it till tomorrow, talk to her at school. You know, give her time to cool down"

Thinking about it Lucas agreed "Yeah, you're right. Thanks man."

Brooke couldn't believe how sweet Lucas had been. She smiled to herself as she replayed what he had just said. _Just be around her properly. _She had really enjoyed tonight as well, she loved hanging out with him, talking to him. Oh, she felt like such a bitch now for not going to the cinema, it's just after what Mouth had said, she felt so stupid and really vulnerable. Although she knew now it was only a movie, and probably meant nothing to him. It would have meant something to her and she didn't want to do that to herself again, compare herself to you know who.

Brooke was getting tired of crouching so she decided she was going to sit down seeing as she might be here for a while, she reached to grab Mouth's rucksack to sit on.

It was open. He must have left it open after he had been searching for his mobile, she thought to herself beginning to close it when she touched red paint. _What the..?_ She thought to herself as she pulled out a black shirt with red paint on it. _What on earth had Mouth been up to this evening? And why was he trying to keep it a secret from everyone?_

"Well, I better go. I'll see you tomorrow man" Lucas said before turning around and walking down the street.

Mouth let out a huge sigh of relief. Never had he been so pleased to see Lucas leave, he thought to himself as he began to look for his rucksack.

_Shit_. Brooke screamed to herself. _He's coming round_. Brooke grabbed the black t-shirt with all the red paint on it and ran as fast as she could round the side of his house. It was dark hopefully Mouth wouldn't see her.

"There it is" Mouth said aloud, picking up his rucksack and heading inside.

Brooke fell back against the wall. This was WAY too much excitement for one night. She waited a few minutes, to make sure Mouth was gone before heading done the road. What was Mouth not telling her? She pondered as she glanced down at the red-stained t-shirt in her purse. What ever it was, he obviously couldn't tell her. _"So much for trusting me"_ Brooke whispered to herself.


	7. That SKANK!

_Just to clear something's up. Although this fanfic is set after 4.10…_

_The whole things with Nathan and Duante did not happen, however Haley did get knocked over by a car. The person who knocked her over died (like Duante did, on impact)_

_Nathan did not try to kill the (normal/random) person who knocked Haley over therefore Dan did not go to jail for Nathan._

_Nathan and Dan have gotten closer though._

_Lucas still had his heart attack._

_I hope that clears something's up. Anyway without further ado…._

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any of the characters.

**Chapter Seven: That SKANK!**

The next day at school, Brooke had spotted Mouth three times and all three times; he looked like he was having a nervous breakdown. He kept looking around frantically and biting his lips. Why on earth was he so nervous? Unless he was feeling guilty. She considered going up to him and telling him, she was there last night and had heard everything but decided against it, she didn't know why, she just felt it wouldn't do any good.

She had also seen Lucas twice today, but both times he had been with Peyton. She had wanted to go up to him and apologies for last night but she didn't know whether he had told Peyton about it, whether Peyton would be mad, or whether she wanted Peyton to know that she had had an argument with Lucas and it kind of had something to do with her. Whatever her reasons were, she really wanted to speak to him. But she knew she couldn't catch him after school because they had cheerleading practice and he had basket practice meaning, he was probably going to go out with Peyton afterwards.

"Hey whore" Brooke turned around to see Rachel standing behind her. She had one hand placed on her hip and her head her was tilted to the right, her signature "guess who I just made out with" pose.

"Hey skank" Brooke replied "So what disgustingly hideous human being did you beg to make out with you today" Brooke teased.

"Josh Barts" Rachel boasted proudly "And let me tell you something, he was anything but disgusting, in fact, he was really good, really, really, REALLY good" Rachel beamed, sharing way more than Brooke needed to know.

"Okay, Rachel, way too much information. Save the horny for you next victim"

"Oh, I will" Rachel grinned

"Eww!" Brooke said out loud beginning to walk away from Rachel

"Brooke" Rachel called

Brooke turned around. "Yeah?"

"Don't we have practice?"

"You bet your ass we do"

"Then quit being a slut and wait for me" Rachel said

"Okay, as soon as you quit being a bitch and hurry up"

Rachel smiled, and Brooke laughed. They had this unique friendship where calling each other names was just all part of their banter. Brooke put her arm over Rachel's shoulder "Now, promise you not going to go showing off, yes you can do the splits like a hundred times over, we all now you have loads of practice spreading you legs" Brooke teased

"Uh!" Rachel faked being offended and playfully pushed Brooke forward, only to link arms with her two seconds later "You're just jealous, Bitchy McBitchy"

"You wish Slutty McSlutty" Brooke smiled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Okay girls, we're finished. That was really great. Theresa just try a little harder on that kick. Bevin you were a little slow at the beginning but other than that, great everybody! See ya girlies" Brooke said to her squad before heading out to the locker rooms to collect her stuff.

"Hey Brooke" Rachel called

"Yep." Brooke turned around

"I'll catch a ride with you, just wait for me in the changing rooms, I think I see Josh" She grinned seductively before running off.

Brooke rolled her eyes whilst thinking to herself that she would be waiting for a long time. She sat down in the locker room, which was now empty. God, it was quiet she thought to herself. What could she do to pass time? Make up some more moves to add to the routine? Yeah that's sounded like a good idea.

"_One and two, three, four" _Brooke said to herself counting in some new moves.

"If you needed any help all you had to do was ask?" said a smug, creepy voice.

Brooke turned around to see… DAN! Her heart started beating really, really fast. What was he doing here? Maybe he knew that she knew, maybe that's why Mouth had been so nervous all day? Shit! She was going to die, he was going to kill her right now, wasn't he? And no one was around to hear her scream, I mean Rachel was probably off doing God knows what with that Josh guy. Shit!

"Miss Davis, what are you doing here so late?" Dan grinned suggestively.

Ew, Brooke officially just threw up in her mouth.

"Are you waiting for Lucas?" Dan asked, knowing the answer. Brooke just tilted her head giving him a look. "No, wait of course not; he's with… er, what's her name?" Dan said pretending to think "She's your best friend…"

"Ex-best friend" Brooke corrected firmly. At that moment, Lucas walked into the changing rooms.

"What are you doing in here?" Lucas asked Dan looking confused

"I was looking for you." Dan said

"In the girl's locker room" Lucas raised one eyebrow, evidently not falling for Dan's excuse.

"Peyton. That's her name, Peyton right?" Dan said looking at Brooke.

Brooke just rolled her eyes. She could see Dan was enjoying every minute of this.

"I didn't mean to pry open old wounds Miss Davis" Dan continued, pausing and smiling before tapping Lucas on the shoulder and saying "We all know that's Lucas's job" With that he walked out, heading for Whiteys office.

"Rrrrr, god why is Dan such an…"

"Ass?" Both Lucas and Brooke said at the same time. They both looked at each other then burst out laughing; God Dan really was an ass. At least they could laugh about that awful encounter in Dan.

"I seriously don't see what my mum ever saw in him" Lucas said shaking his head.

"I hope you don't" Brooke teased. Lucas laughed, only she could turn a sentence like that into something completely different. "So what are you doing in here?" Brooke asked. "If you're looking for Peyton, I think she's already gone"

"No, I was looking for you actually" Lucas said. "I wanted to apologise for…"

Brooke interrupted him "No, no. Seriously it was all me, I was just getting overly sensitive about things and…"

Lucas interrupted "No you were right about it…I…"

"I'm sorry" They both said at the same time, smiling and looking down momentarily.

"Well, I better get going" Lucas said

"Okay, bye" Brooke smiled

Brooke waited another ten minutes before heading out to her car. Rachel probably wasn't even coming back. Knowing her she got it off with Josh in the back of his car and decided to finish whatever they started back at his place. Brooke slowly walked out into the car park. She was all tired out from practice and really couldn't wait to get home and have a nice long bath. That and start to read over her notes for History, she knew she'd be having a pop quiz because Mouth had said his class had one last week. Just as she could imagine getting home and throwing her keys on the counter before running up to have a bath, she noticed her car wasn't where she left it. As she began to look around she realised her car wasn't even in the car park. Had someone stolen it? She looked quickly through her gym bag trying to find her keys until it hit her. "That SKANK!" She practically screamed out loud.

Rachel. Rachel had stolen her key and was probably making out with Josh in the back of HER car. Ew, ew, ew, ewwwwww. What on earth was she meant to do now? Walk back to Rachel's?

"Why did this have to happen to me?" She said to herself as she began walking away from school. Maybe she could see if Lucas was still in and could give her a lift? No, it probably wasn't best and, she could see his car in the car park. She looked around once more "Come on, come on, come on" She said looking around. Just then a tall, dark, handsome figure walked out the building, Brooke walked closer to see who it was, hoping it wasn't Dan.

"Nathan!" Brooke squealed running up to him

"Brooke? What are you doing here?" Nathan said looking confused

"Boy, am I glad to see you. You would be able to give me a ride home, it's just that Rachel got off with some guy and was kind enough to take my car"

"Nice" Nathan said sarcastically "Sure come on, my car is over there"

"So what are you doing here so late? You and whitey finally hooked up?" Brooke teased

"Ha ha Brooke. No, my dad well, he..."

"He's an ass?" Brooke added

Nathan just smiled. Brooke could sense he probably didn't want to talk about it so she changed the subject "Great game Nate"

"Thanks, I'm practically dead" He said, opening the door for her to get into the car. He got in the other side and started the engine. It wasn't soon before they were on the road.

"So how are things with you?" Nathan asked

"What, you mean since me and Lucas broke up and he and Peyton started dating?" Brooke replied. Nathan just looked at her, surprised about how upfront she was being; mind you he never really had Brooke down as someone who held back. "What?" Brooke asked "That's what you were really asking me"

Nathan smiled. She was good, that's exactly what he was asking. Brooke continued "Look Nathan, I know that you've always been a fan of Peyton and Lucas being together so, I'm guessing whatever I say doesn't really matter."

Nathan looked at her "Why would you think that? Look, I'm happy for Lucas and Peyton, because I've seen how miserable they've both been. Lucas was absolutely heartbroken when you guys broke up but I'm guessing I don't have to tell you about that because you felt the same. And with Peyton, well all this stuff with losing her mum and Jake, I guess I'm just happy because she seems to be happy for once"

"That's great Nate, it really is, but does that mean that I have to sacrifice my happiness for Peyton" Brooke said.

Nathan looked at her. "I know why you did it?" He said

"Did what?" Brooke asked

"Broke up with Lucas. It was the same reason why I told Haley to go on the tour. It's not because I didn't love her, it's not because I didn't want to be with her, in fact it was the absolute obvious. I loved her some much but I was afraid of losing her, just like you were afraid of loosing Lucas to Peyton, so you did what I did. You told him to go and my guess if you wanted him to stay, you wanted him to fight for you and tell you he didn't want to be with Peyton, not just to watch you walk away. But I guess that's where we both went wrong, because Haley went on the tour and Lucas, he watched you walk away and started dating Peyton"

Brooke had been looking up at Nathan the entire time he was speaking. He was right; everything that he said was exactly what she had felt. Nathan turned to face Brooke "But don't give up on him. Sure, Haley went on tour, but she came back. She had to experience it for herself, just like Lucas has to be with Peyton to stop himself from ever wondering 'what if'. I know that it sucks Brooke because me and you we didn't have to experience things to know how we felt but that's who we are."

Brooke just smiled "Sometimes you have to let someone go and if its meant to be they will come back to you, right?" she said

"Right" Nathan smiled pulling up into Rachel's driveway.

"Thanks for the lift and the talk Nate" Brooke smiled, giving Nathan a quick peck on the cheek. Nathan smiled and nodded.

Brooke got out of the car and watched as Nathan drove away, waving him goodbye. She was finally at home and could start to think about that relaxing bath. She got her keys out of her purse and turned to walk up the steps to the front door, when she stopped.

Sitting on the steps in front of her was none other than….. Mouth. She looked at him, confused as to why he was here. He didn't look up, all he said was…

"I've got some bad news Brooke?"


	8. Oh the possibilities!

_Sorry for the delay in updating. __Thanks everyone, for all your wonderful comments, I love reading them, so did my best to respond to all of your questions and comments._

_**Brucas2006:**__ Thanks, for your comments, I'm glad you liked the Brathan talk and I totally agree Leyton should just die already! _

_**Stellame:**__ I'm glad you like the brucas interaction; I definitely want their relationship to build up. _

_**Rosewell Dream Girl:**__ Thanks for you comment, I miss brucas too and seriously hoping they find their way back together, if Mark knows what's good for him lol. _

_**OTH GURL:**__ Thanks, I'm glad you liked the flash back; I miss how cute brucas used to be so I had to include some. _

_**Linkie:**__ I'm glad you liked the chapter. The 'saying the same words at the same time', is kinda hard to describe in writing but I'm glad you understood it. Thanks for you comment. _

_**Hinata-37: **__I can't stand Leyton (aka pucas) either, I wrote them being still together because sadly they were together in 4.10 so I had to include it but don't worry this is definitely, 100 a brucas fanfic._

_**-x-becki-bbe-x-: **__Thanks for commenting, I'm glad you liked the chapter. _

_**Mosie1213: **__I'm glad you like the story, I hope the next chapter answers some of your questions. _

_**Artemis no Himitsu: **__Hey ChiChi, your comment totally made me laugh. I'm really happy to hear you're hooked. I would love to answer all your questions but you're just going to have to read to find out. Hope you like the next chapter; I'm sure you'll tell me what you think. Lol. _

_**daniela1683: **__Heya, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. It is definitely a brucas fanfic, as icky as Leyton are; they are part of the journey. About Mouth, he is hiding it because, like he thought in chapter three, all this sneaking around and lying isn't him and although he has good motives, people wouldn't necessarily see it like that, plus, he's hidden this from Lucas and is ashamed of that. Hopefully that answered some of your questions, if you have anymore feel free to ask and keep reading._

**Chapter Nine: Oh…the possibilities!**

Brooke stood there momentarily looking at Mouth. She was beginning to get really tired of the whole thing. She walked past him, into the house leaving the door open.

"Brooke, didn't you hear what I said?" Mouth said, as he followed her into the house, shutting the door behind him.

"What do you mean you've got bad news Mouth…?" Brooke said as she began making her way through the hallway and up the stairs.

"I.." Mouth began but Brooke interrupted him.

"Let me guess… you know who opened the time capsule" She said continuing up the stairs.

Mouth stopped momentarily. He did know, but that wasn't what he had to tell Brooke. God, how many secrets was he keeping? He thought to himself as he continued to follow Brooke who was still making her way up the stairs, sounding angrier with every word she said. "Trust me, I won't lie to you anymore" Brooke said imitating Mouth. "Yeah right" she said to more to herself than to Mouth.

"Brooke if you'll just wait." Mouth pleaded as he followed her into her room. "It's really important… I think Dan knows."

Brooke stopped, frozen still. _What? How could he know? _Brooke turned around slowly to face Mouth. "How?" she asked.

"The other night when I said I was home…" Mouth began "Well… I wasn't. I was… doing something"

Brooke just rolled her eyes; she knew he hadn't been at home. "Something, what do you mean something?"

"Just stuff… anyway, I left something behind, and I think Dan might be onto me"

Brooke just took a deep breathe, she couldn't bare not knowing things, even though she sometimes wished she never knew about any of this in the first place, now that she did she hated feeling like there was something Mouth wasn't tell her. "Mouth, you said you were doing something, what was it?"

"Brooke, that's not important right now, I'm telling you that Dan knows he's onto us. He knows that I know!" Mouth said getting louder and louder.

"How Mouth? How on earth would Dan know?" she said beginning to shout

"I told you Brooke I left something" Moth said shouting back

"Where? Where did you leave something Mouth?"

By now both Mouth and Brooke were standing on opposite ends of her room, shouting as if they were miles away form one another.

"Brooke, it doesn't matter where, all that matters is he knows, he knows that we know!"

"It matters to me Mouth, it matters to me!"

"Brooke, can't you hear what I'm saying. What are we going to do?"

"We?"

"Yes, the both of us!"

"What do you mean the both of us I have nothing to do with this"

"But you know about it too, you know about it too!"

"So what? It wasn't my stupid shirt!" Brooke screamed.

Mouth froze. _The shirt, how does she know about the shirt?_ "Brooke, how do you know about the shirt?"

_Oh shit!! _Brooke thought to herself. She had been so angry that she just blurted it out."Mouth, I.."

"How do you know about the shirt?" Mouth persisted.

"You mentioned it before Mouth" Brooke lied.

"Don't lie to me Brooke, you….."

"So, it's alright for you to lie to me but I can't lie to you." Brooke said edging towards Mouth "I was there Mouth; I was there yesterday when you lied to me and when you lied to Lucas." Brooke said.

"What? How?" Mouth asked.

"You're getting way to good at this lying thing Mouth, it's scary. You told me you were at home, when you weren't. You told me you were feeling sick, when you weren't and you said the same to Lucas. What else aren't you telling me? Huh."

Mouth couldn't look at her, he felt guilty, he did it's just, it was like a web. Once he got caught in it, he was trapped, no way out and he could feel himself getting more and more tangled into this web of lies and deceit. "Brooke, I'm…"

Brooke walked past him to one of her draws, opening it to take out the shirt. "Here" Brooke said, throwing the shirt at Mouth. "You don't' have to worry, your secret's safe."

Mouth looked down at the shirt, before looking up at Brooke. She looked so hurt and disappointed. For some reason, he couldn't feel relieved, not after everything Brooke had just said. "Brooke I'm really…"

Brooke interrupted him once again "Could you just leave Mouth"

"Brooke"

"Please. I don't want to talk anymore" she said tired of all the arguing. Mouth nodded before doing as she asked.

Once Brooke heard the door shut, she took a deep breath and dropped down onto her bed. She could feel a tear rolling down her cheek, but she didn't wipe it away, instead she sat there staring at the clock above the door. Rachel wouldn't be back until 1am, the house was so quiet. She hated feeling so alone. Everyone she loved had betrayed or lied to her; or worse, they didn't love her back; Lucas, Peyton, her parents and now Mouth. Brooke lay back on her bed; and closed her eyes, trying to get to sleep.

Tomorrow was another day, which would be met with another brave face she put on for the world to see.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright, pens and pencils down now, time's up, your test is over. Don't forget to collect last week's test paper from me at the front, let's hope that last week's grade is not a reflection of what you will be scoring this week." Mr Pierson said looking at specific individuals in the class. "Mark Hudson, come and collect your paper please…"

Brooke put her name on her test and passed it forward. She hated this part. Why did Mr Pierson choose to give out last weeks test results at the end of the lesson? Going up in front of the whole class was so humiliating. I mean, everyone was looking at you. Mr Pierson would hand you your paper and even though no one could see what you got, you could always tell the ones who did well from the ones who definitely did not. The smart students would look down at their paper and smile, thanking Mr Pierson before they left. The ones who didn't do so well; they'd take one look at their mark and be out of the classroom as soon as they could. Brooke sat there tapping her pencil on the desk. She had just done one test and now she was going to get back her crappy mark from last week.

"Brooke Davis, come and collect your paper please"

Brooke walked to the front of the class, took her paper, smiled at Mr Pierson and left. She'd look at it later, not now with all eyes on her. Although Brooke was no stranger to attention, she knew people weren't staring because they were genuinely interested in her results; all they wanted to see was a dumb, slutty cheerleader get her 'F' and pout as if she didn't understand why flirting with the teacher wouldn't get her an A.

"Hey" a familiar voice said.

Brooke turned around to see Lucas. "Hey" she said trying to smile.

"How'd you find the test" Lucas asked. Brooke frowned in response.

"Come on, I'm sure it wasn't that bad"

"That test was horrible Luke, and on top of it we just got last week's results back. God, I hate Thursday's. Did you find the test hard?"

"It was… okay" he said trying to down play the fact that he thought the test went quite well.

"Oh…great. You thought it was 'okay' which we both know is code for really easy"

"No, no, I mean the last question was completely weird, I didn't get it at…" Lucas said trying to comfort her.

"Yeah, I'm sure" Brooke said rolling her eyes, completely unconvinced

Lucas smiled sympathetically. "So how did you do in last weeks test?" Lucas asked. Brooke opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't help but feel the ears of nosey nobodies listening intently to her response.

"Yeah, Brooke how did you do?" Asked Theresa who had obviously been listening in to her conversation with Lucas.

"Hey, Theresa" Brooke said. Not even attempting to hide her lack of enthusiasm.

"I did okay" Brooke lied; she hadn't even looked at her paper, for all she knew she could have gotten nothing right.

Theresa shook her head as if to say "And…"

Brooke rolled her eyes "I got a C. God, who would have known that my results were like, breaking news"

"Well done Bee, I guess you're not so brainless after all" Theresa blew Brooke air kisses and strutted off.

"Yeah, well done Bee" Lucas said, imitating Theresa. Brooke laughed, and so did Lucas.

"God, I hate it when she calls me that. I'm going to change the subject… what have you got next?"

"Chemistry" Lucas said

"Oh yeah, well have fun" Brooke smiled.

The bell rang for break as the hall filled with more people. "I better go, I said I'd meet Peyton" Lucas said gesturing towards the library.

"Yeah, me too, I promised to meet Rachel and listen to her way too detailed account of her date with Josh, but when say listen I really mean throw up so..."

Lucas burst out laughing, shaking his head.

Brooke smiled. God she loved the sound of his laugh. "I'll see you next period for History" she said before heading down the hall. Making sure she didn't look back, even though she really wanted to. Lucas used to do it all the time; when he'd walk her to her lesson and kiss her on the forehead before going to his next lesson. He'd always look back, and smile at her with that smile that would make her heart melt, completely distracting her for the rest of the lesson.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The bell rang for the end of break and Brooke slowly made her way to class. She had managed to avoid Rachel and her graphic story by hanging out with Bevin, who was apparently going through a huge crisis, which in Bevin's world meant that two parties were on at the same night and she couldn't decide which to go to. Brooke had spent the whole break listening to Bevin list all the cool and 'not-so-cool' things about each party in hopes of coming to a decision but, being Bevin she couldn't.

Now, Brooke was going to be late for class. She went over to her locker to get her books before class. As she opened her locker to get her books, she saw that on top of her textbook was her test paper. She had managed to avoid looking at it all break but now, it was just her and her mark and she had to look. I mean, what was the big deal, she never usually got this hung up over results. It's just that she had been failing a lot recently and Mr Pierson had already warned her that her grades needed to improve if she was to graduate. Brooke grabbed the paper and with a deep breath looked at it.

"_I got an F! I got an F, a lousy, stupid F!" _Brooke screamed in her head.

"Hey" A voice said.

Brooke jumped letting out a scream and dropping her paper to the floor. She turned around to see, none other than... "Peyton, you scared me" Brooke said with her hand on her heart, recovering from the shock.

"Sorry." Peyton said. "Here you dropped your..." she said bending down to pick up Brooke's paper "Your paper. Wow, you got an F"

Brooke looked at Peyton who was smiling. "God, what you do Brooke, _just_ right you name" Peyton giggled

Brooke snatched the paper out of Peyton's hand. "If that was all then..." Brooke gestured for Peyton to leave.

"No, no. I'm sorry Brooke. I wasn't trying to be mean, I was joking" Peyton said.

Brooke just looked at her. I guess this is what things had come to. The old Brooke and Peyton would have easily joked about it but now things were different. Brooke couldn't deny that she missed her best friend, especially now when she was failing. Sure, she and Peyton had joked about Brooke having to repeat the year but now that she was failing it didn't seem so funny. She really needed her best friend now, she wished she could talk to her about everything, Dan killing Keith, Mouth being secretive, her failing and possibly being stopped from extra curricular activities such as cheerleading. Brooke took a deep breath. The old P. Sawyer had to be in there somewhere. If Peyton was making an effort then maybe she could try too.

"It's okay, I'm just a little touchy" Brooke looked at Peyton.

"You can talk to me Brooke" Peyton said stepping forward.

"It's just… I've been doing pretty crappy lately and the last thing I need is people knowing, I… I mean people already think I'm a brainless slut, there's no need for them to find out they're right… about the brainless part that is" Brooke smiled sarcastically.

"Brooke, it's not that bad..." Peyton began

Brooke just looked at her "Seriously, I appreciate you trying to make me feel better but as long as no one else knows, I think I'll just be able to get over it."

Brooke smiled. _Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, I mean I know it's just a little thing but if I can start trusting her again and talking to her about stuff_. Brooke thought to herself.

"Hey girlies" Rachel said. Brooke turned around to face her. What was she doing out of class? Probably a quick session with Josh.

Rachel stared at the both of them. "Now, I know it's been a really long day and you're probably really tired but you guys do realise that you hate each other right? I mean Peyton, shouldn't you be sneaking around with another one of Brooke's boyfriends right now and Brooke, shouldn't you be making out with another one of Peyton physco brothers"

Brooke laughed dryly "Hi Rachel"

Peyton turned to face Brooke "I'll see you later"

"Bye" Brooke said.

Rachel leaned against the lockers as Peyton headed down the hall. "Seriously, Miss Davis, I would excepted so much more from you" Rachel said faking disappointment "I mean you guys are over here smiling and talking, what happened to the slaps and hurling of abuse"

"Enough, with the subtle hints already" Brooke said sarcastically "I get it; Peyton and I are meant to enemies"

"Its okay, Brookie, you're not that smart, I didn't expect to remember. So what did you get?" Rachel asked

Brooke frowned. "That bad, huh" Rachel said grabbing Brooke's paper out of her hands "You got an F, ouch! I take back what said, its not that you're not that smart, it's that you're really stupid"

Brooke sighed"Yes, yes I know. Don't you have anything better to talk about, like your "encounter" with Josh?"

"Uh, Josh and I are SO over" Rachel stated flicking back the hair on her right shoulder.

"What happened, is he not into crazy whores, such as yourself" Brooke teased

"If only. No, he got an F in his last test and I just wasn't impressed"

"Okay what is with the new obsession with grades nowadays?"

"I know, it's weird, someone would think we're in a school or something… oh wait we are" Rachel smiled sarcastically.

"Hey, hey now don't be so shallow. You want him for his body not his brains remember" Brooke teased. "I mean, I got an F, does that mean you're going to stop hanging out with me?"

"No way, you're still my bitch" Rachel said. Brooke just looked at Rachel before they both burst out laughing.

"Seriously, Josh and I are done; I mean the sex was good but not tha…"

"Way too much information Rachel" Brooke said putting her hands over her ears "There are something even I don't want to her" Brooke and Rachel laughed, before linking arms and walking down the hall towards their next lesson. "So Rachel, what ever will you do for entertainment?" Brooke giggled.

"You can laugh all you want Miss Davis, but I have a feeling that tomorrow's History lesson is going to be very entertaining." Rachel smiled.

"What do you mean?" Brooke asked

"You, Lucas and Peyton in one class… oh the possibilities" Rachel laughed

Brooke just looked at Rachel. She hadn't actually thought of that.


	9. If you stroke a stray dog

_Heya guys, I know this was a REALLY long hiatus, the mayhem of life got in between but… I have put up two chapters and will update with another two chapters very soon. Tell me what you think and enjoy…_

**daniela1683** Thank you for your comment, I'm glad you liked that moment, Mark had done his best this season to try and ruin the memories we have of brucas; least I could try and do is create some cute ones. **Mosie1213**: Thanks for you comment, I like Rachel's smart ass comments too, she says what people are usually afraid to say. **hinata-37**Thank you for your comment, I'm really glad you like the story, I'll definitely keep it up, the story still has a way to go with lots more drama and angst!

_Without further ado…_

**Chapter Ten: ** **If you stroke a stray dog, expect to get bitten**

Brooke and Rachel stepped into the gym, both not looking their best.

"Okay, whose brilliant idea was it to have an early cheer practice" Brooke moaned

"That would be you, captain" Rachel said, managing to smile sarcastically.

"Great" Brooke muttered under her breath. She looked around the gym. "Okay, where is everybo…" Before she could finish her sentence most of the squad came through the changing room doors.

"Everyone is here… early?" Brooke said. Sure enough Brooke had ranted on to the whole squad about how important this early practice was but she didn't actually think everyone would be here on time. They must have listened after all.

"Yeah Brooke, you said in the morning and I woke up like an hour ago so… it's got to be the morning… right?" Bevin smiled tilting her head to the side.

"Thanks for that Bev" Brooke said smiling at Bevin before addressing the rest of the squad. "Okay everyone, get into your positions" Everyone made their way to their places. Brooke looked around once more, noticing that Peyton wasn't in. She whispered to Rachel "Peyton isn't here, she should be here, I mean we haven't had a practice in ages and there's a big game coming up"

Rachel looked around "Maybe she's still in bed… with Lucas"

Brooke rolled her eyes "And I officially just threw up in my mouth" she said before walking to the front of her squad. "From the top, everyone" She bent over to press play on the CD player "5, 4, 3, 2…."

After five run-throughs, lots of shouting and only one five minute break, Brooke stopped the CD and stood with her hands on her hips waiting for the attention of her whole squad "Okay, so that didn't suck and we've managed to get a lot done. Theresa, just remember to be faster on the kick and Bevin make sure…" Before Brooke could finish her sentence she was interrupted by a late arrival…. Peyton.

Peyton walked calmly into the gym as if she had arrived on time and not a second late. The entire squad watched as Peyton put her gym bag on the bench and take her position, looking up at Brooke as if to say "Continue…"

"Peyton, you're late… like over half and hour late." Brooke said.

"Yeah, I am aware of that." Peyton replied without a care.

"Well is everything okay?" Brooke asked

"Yeah" she replied again carelessly.

"So why are you late?" Brooke said sounding a little annoyed

"Look it's just a stupid practice, so I was late… big deal"

The whole squad now turned to face Brooke…. this ought to be good.

Brooke smiled uneasily "Okay guys, you did good today, I think we've done enough so you can go"

Looking between Brooke and Peyton, the squad could tell they "needed to talk" so everyone silently made there way to the changing rooms quickly. Rachel however, walked over to the bench and sat down comfortably. She wasn't going to miss this.

"Peyton..." Brooke began walking closer to her "I get that you might not be that bothered but if you show up late that's not fair one everyone else, okay. If Theresa or one of the other girls did that I would rip their ditzy little heads off. Just because we were talking yesterday doesn't mean…"

"God, spare me the pep talk. So we talked yesterday, nothing has changed… has it? You're not all of a sudden going to forgive me for whatever you think I did to you"

"You know what you did" Brooke said trying to hold back her anger "So what was this about then, I have to be friends with you or you're going to undermine me in front of the squad.. a little dramatic don't you think?" Brooke said trying to keep her cool.

"If anyone should know about being dramatic it's you, so what I turned up late. I slept through my alarm, no big deal… but you always have to make things bigger than they have to be" Peyton said raising her voice.

"Are we still talking about cheerleading Peyton or something else" Brooke replied.

There was a long pause; Brooke stared at Peyton waiting for her to reply, even though they both knew the answer to the question. _What was up with her today? Where did yesterday's Peyton go?_ Brooke thought to herself.

Peyton finally answered. "Whatever Brooke" she said before walking out, towards the changing rooms.

Brooke waited to hear the sound of the doors shut and then took a huge breath, turning to face Rachel.

"Hate to say I told you so Brooke…" Rachel said throwing up her hands "but if you stroke a stray dog, expect to get bitten"

"What the…" Brooke said confused

"Okay, so I've been hanging out with Bevin too much but you know what I mean"

"Do you think her and Lucas had a fight or something?" Brooke asked

"Please, the two of them are like twins, what would they fight about? Which CD to play on the way to school"

Brooke just rolled her eyes. And walked over to the bench were Rachel was sitting.

"Speaking of Lucas" Rachel continued "How is your…so called friendship going with lover boy"

"Okay, first of all don't say 'lover boy' and second of all, the whole friend's thing is going great" Brooke said

"Great because he's your… lover boy" Rachel teased.

"No!" Brooke laughed "We are just friends"

Rachel smiled and started singing "Brooke and Lucas sitting in a tree… doing things they shouldn't be..."

"Shut up, Rachel" Brooke laughed

"Brooke loves Lucas, Brooke loves Lucas…" Rachel continued

"Rachel, you should…" Brooke was about to tell Rachel she should get a life but was interrupted by Peyton who stood only a few feet away from her. _Shit! _ Brooke thought to herself_. How did I not hear her come in? _Peyton did not look amused. Brooke hit Rachel to stop her singing.

"What?" Rachel said, before turning to face Peyton "Oh"

Peyton just scoffed at the pair of them bending over to grab her gym bag, she swung it over her shoulder muttering, loud enough for both Rachel and Brooke to hear "Please" before storming out of the gym.

Brooke threw her head back, putting her hands up to her head. _Crap!_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The bell rang for first period and Lucas made his way to history class. He loved History class, not just because it was one of his favourite subjects but because he got to see her. He got to see her smile and hear her laugh and even though they were just friends, he couldn't help but feel happy around her. He remembered back to when they broke up and how he would sit there, two rows back from her, hoping, just hoping that she'd turn around and wink at him or smile the way she used to or… do that thing she used to do when she'd look to her right pretending to be looking at the person next to her when she was really trying to look at him. That would always make him smile like some goofy idiot and Mr Henderson had no problem picking him up on that "Are you alright there Scott" he'd say or "What is so funny about Mussolini, Scott?"

He'd have to catch up at the end of class, staying back to ask Mr Henderson questions about chunks of the lesson he had missed just thinking about Brooke, but she'd always be there leaning against the wall, waiting for him after class. She always looked so beautiful, she looked perfect….

"_You're such a bod" Brooke teased as Lucas came out the classroom and walked over to her placing his arm over her shoulders holding her tight as the walked forward._

"_Maybe if somebody didn't keep turning around and distracting me the whole lesson, I wouldn't need to ask Mr Henderson so many questions" Lucas said as Brooke stopped turning to face him, putting her arms round his neck._

"_Oh really…" she said grinning, reaching up to kiss him._

_She stood on her tiptoes as Lucas placed his arms round her waist leaning into the kiss…. _

"Lucas! Lucas!"

Lucas turned around to see Peyton. "Hey Peyton"

"Hey, you were a million miles away" Peyton said nudging him.

"Something like that" Lucas muttered "So what are you doing here?" Lucas asked

"I'm in your history class remember" Peyton smiled

"Of course, I was totally out of it. How did practice go?" Lucas asked

"Apart from Brooke being… erm... Brooke, everything was fine"

"I thought you guys were talking again?" Lucas asked

"Well that was yesterday, today she's being an annoying bitch so I'm not talking to her"

Lucas rolled his eyes "Peyton…"

"Miss smarty-pants Brooke needs to realise that there are other things more important than cheerleading like I don't know…school, grades and…

"Hi Lucas… Peyton" Rachel said as she walked past with Brooke whose face was filled with rage at what she had just heard. Brooke glared at Peyton. _What a bitch!_ She thought to herself. _I wonder if she always bitches about me to Lucas._

They all walked into the class taking their seats… Yep this was definitely going to be interesting.


	10. Your girlfriend went that way!

**Chapter Eleven: Your girlfriend went that way!**

"Alright everyone, I've nearly finished grading last term's assessment which means it's that time again" Mr Dawson said, looking around at the class.

Everyone sighed. "Yep, I know." He said nodding "This term's project is going to be a little easier because everyone will have a partner to share the burden of deadlines with." Mr Dawson said, looking up at the few suck ups who laughed at his pathetic attempt to make a joke. "Now I want everyone on the left side of the class to put their names in this hat and I want everyone on the right side of the class to pick a topic and write your choice on a piece of paper and put it in the other hat, bare in mind you might not get the topic you put it"

Everyone proceeded to put their names or topics in the specific hats passing them to the front. "Okay, now swap the hats and each side can read out what you got"

Brooke opened her piece of paper.

"Brooke Davis, who is your partner?" Mr Dawson asked.

Brooke looked up "I got Lucas" Brooke said. She didn't even have to look at Peyton to feel her rolling her eyes.

"And Lucas what topic did you pick from the hat?"

"The French Revolution" Lucas said

"Ooooyeah" Brooke said turning around to smile at Lucas. _She loved France. _

"Glad to see someone is enthusiastic about this" Mr Dawson said smiling at Brooke. "Miss Gatina, who is your partner?"

Rachel turned her paper around, showing it to Mr Dawson "That would be Peyton"

Peyton looked at Rachel, whose expression mirrored hers. _Just great. _Peyton thought to herself before looking down at her piece of paper "We've got the French Revolution too"

"Okay then, well we've still got ten minutes before the end of the lesson, why don't you find your partners and talk about what you plan do" Mr Dawson said walking back over to his desk.

Most people in the class got up and moved to their partners. Brooke began putting her books in her bag, she saw Lucas in the corner of the class talking to Theresa who was leaning over his desk asking him something about his work. Brooke stood up waiting for Theresa to finish before heading over.

"Hey Brooke" Brooke turned around to see Peyton.

"Peyton, hi" Brooke replied

"So I was thinking that I wouldn't mind switching Lucas for Rachel, seeing how things might still be a little awkward between the two of you…" Peyton said

"No, its fine, I don't mind" Brooke answered

"Seriously, I'd be fine with it, seeing as I'm going out with Lucas and you guys didn't break up too long ago"

"Your right Peyton, we didn't break up that long ago and you are going out with him now" She paused letting what she had just said sink in with Peyton. "It's fine honestly, we're friends. Not in a horrible way but the only awkward pairing right now would be me and you, so it's fine"

Peyton tried to smile but it was obvious Brooke's words had stung her. Brooke noticed and quickly tried to apologies "Peyton, I didn't mean it in that way, it's just with what had happened today and…"

"No, I think you did mean it Brooke, in fact I don't even know why I bother trying with you, trying to do you a favour"

"Please Peyton, this wasn't about doing me a favour, you just wanted to be partners with Lucas that's all" Brooke said

"And what's so wrong with that?" Peyton asked defensively

"Nothing, you just don't have to lie about it" Brooke replied sounding disappointed

"Whatever, so we can switch" Peyton asked

"Well, I don't think we'll be allowed to, Mr Dawson won't think its fair"

"When has that ever stopped you Brooke?"

"And plus I like doing the French Revolution"

"Since when did you ever get so excited about doing the French Revolution?" Peyton asked

"Since Lucas was her partner" Rachel said, getting up from her desk where she had been sitting and witnessing the whole discussion. Both Peyton and Brooke glared and Rachel "So do you have any ideas for our project, Peyton" Rachel asked, nudging Peyton.

"Yeah, here's an idea, how about we switch partners"

"Woah, wait a minute Peyton. So it's alright for you and Lucas to be friends when we were going out but now that you're going out with him, I can't be friends with him?"

"Of course that's not it. I just didn't know you guys were such great friends" Peyton said

"You know you're being really paranoid and stupid about the whole partner thing" Brooke said

"First of all, in case you forgot, you're the paranoid, jealous, insecure one, so don't think that I'm worried for a second about you and Lucas being partners and second of all, I would be really careful how you use the word stupid, seeing as far as I can remember you're the only stupid one here!"

By now the whole class had gone silent and everyone was looking at Brooke, Rachel and Peyton.

"Where do you get off calling me stupid?" Brooke said trying to lower the tone of the conversation.

Lucas looked over at Brooke, Peyton and Rachel. _That doesn't look to good_. He thought to himself, walking over to the three of them.

Rachel nudged Brooke "Hey, I think she might have gotten that idea from your maths results, you know the one that you guys were reuniting over"

"Trust me that was no reunion" Brooke scoffed. Peyton just rolled her eyes at Brooke's comment.

"So this is about my maths results?" Brooke asked Peyton once again trying to lower the tone of the conversation.

"Why are you guys arguing over Brooke's maths results?" Lucas asked completely confused by the whole thing.

"We're not" Peyton said slightly abruptly

"Peyton was just calling me stupid…" Brooke tried to explain

"And Brooke said I was paranoid" Peyton replied

"Wait, how are you paranoid Peyton and Brooke how are you stupid, you got a C in your maths test you're not stupid." Lucas said trying to rationalise the situation.

Rachel immediately started to fake cough. Peyton smiled sarcastically. "Well, look whose telling lies now Brooke"

"Okay, I've had enough of this" Brooke said grabbing her bag "Peyton it's fine, you and Lucas can be partners"

"Wait, a second what's going on" Lucas asked

"Why don't you ask Brooke" Peyton said "Ask her what she got in her test, what she really got" Peyton said turning around to look at Brooke.

All eyes were on Brooke now. For someone who was usually used to people looking at her, Brooke definitely wasn't coping well with all the sudden attention.

Brooke looked around at everyone. _Why are they all so interested in my conversation? So what I flunked maths, why do they care? As if admitting I failed isn't bad enough, I have to tell everyone I lied about it. Could this get any worse? _Brooke thought to herself.

Lucas turned to look at Brooke, just as Brooke turned to look at Peyton, pleading Peyton to save her from the embarrassment that was sure to follow, but Peyton glared back, shrugging her shoulder sarcastically. Brooke took a deep breath…

"I got an F, okay" Brooke sighed.

Peyton just rolled her eyes. "Whatever" she said before leaving the classroom.

There was silence for a minute as Brooke tried to mentally pick up what was left of her self-respect off the floor. Theresa, who had obviously just caught on to what had just happened, stood up in shock "Oh my God, she told me she got a C how sad is that." She giggled.

_Could things get any worse…Yes things they could, Theresa could be mocking me. Theresa is mocking me._ Brooke screamed to herself.

Brooke grabbed her back and left the classroom in the opposite direction to Peyton.

"Brooke, wait…" Lucas called, heading out into the hallway. Rachel followed him, grabbing his arm.

"Erm Lucas, your girlfriend went that way" Rachel said, pointing in the opposite direction.

Lucas looked at her and back at the rest of the class who were all staring. He knew exactly how it looked to everyone else. He paused a minute, then Lucas turned around and walked the opposite direction to follow Peyton, as Rachel continued to follow Brooke.


	11. I’m not crying, I’m just embarrassed

_Thanks everyone for your comments! Keep them coming, I love reading them! _

_**Roswell Dream Girl:**__ I can't stand Peyton too and this is definitely not a pucas story, its is 100 brucas! Pucas are just part of the journey in the story ___

_**Artemis no Himitsu:**__ Hey ChiChi, thanks for your comment, Rachel definitely does like to stir things up and Peyton well… she's just an all round moody brat, lol. Hope you enjoy the next chapter._

_**daniela1683:**__ Thanks for your comment, I'm glad you're enjoying the story and liked the "Your girlfriend went that way.." part. I thought that would be funny Lucas moment lol. Hopefully Peyton won't be paired with Lucas, lol. We've seen enough of them this season! Hope you enjoy the next update. _

_**brucas831:**__ Thanks for your comment. I'm really glad you like the story._

_**hinata-37:**__ Thanks. I'm glad you like the story, keep reading…_

**Chapter Twelve: I'm not crying, I'm just embarrassed**

Brooke continued to run down the hallway towards the girl's bathroom. She was running so fast she wasn't looking where she was going. She turned the corner bumping right into…

"Brooke?"

"Mouth?" Brooke replied. _Could this day get any worse?_ She hadn't spoken to Mouth in so long. Last time they had spoken they had a huge argument and she didn't exactly know where they stood. Brooke just looked at him and hurried past. She didn't know what to say especially now when all she could think about was Lucas and Peyton and the embarrassing scene which had just taken place.

"Brooke!" Mouth turned around calling after her as she ran down the hallway. She didn't stop. _She looks really upset. _ Mouth didn't know what had happened but he knew that she was upset. He wanted to go after her and see if she was okay but he didn't know whether she'd want him too.

"Mouth, mouth?"

Mouth turned around to see Rachel standing in front of him. "Rachel?" Mouth said "Do you know what just happened with Brooke?" He asked

"Where did Brooke go?" Rachel asked ignoring Mouth's question.

"In there." Mouth said point at the girl's bathroom down the hall.

Rachel nodded and continued down the hallway into the bathroom, Mouth followed. Even though he and Brooke had spoken in a while, he still cared about her.

"Just go Rachel" Brooke said, looking up as she saw Rachel come into the bathroom followed by Mouth. _What was he doing here? _

"Brooke, are you alright?" Rachel asked walking over to her as Mouth stood in the corner of the room.

"As if you care" Brooke said as she applied some mascara in the mirror

"How is any of this my fault?" Rachel asked defensively

"You just couldn't help yourself with all your smart remarks, winding Peyton up, as if this morning wasn't bad enough you had to push it throughout the whole lesson"

"Okay fine, maybe I did stir things up a little but…"

"A little, what was with your comment about me liking the French Revolution because Lucas was my partner?"

"Well do you?" Rachel asked

"No!" Brooke turned to face the mirror

"So why are you crying about this"

"I am not crying I'm just embarrassed. In case you didn't notice, everyone heard our argument, everyone heard Peyton call me stupid and everyone knows I failed and was pathetic enough to lie about it. I mean Theresa of all called me sad." Brooke rolled her eyes with frustration throwing her mascara in bag

"Give me a break Brooke. First of all, ignore Theresa you can totally get her back for her that at cheer practice and second of all, since when did you care what other people thought?" Rachel said moving next to Brooke and nudging her, as she styled her hair in the mirror. "Or maybe you care about what a certain someone thinks… someone like Lucas"

Brooke paused staring at Rachel and then at Mouth. She didn't want to answer that. She didn't have to she knew that's why she was upset and so did Mouth and Rachel.

"What are you going to do about the whole partner thing Brooke?"

Brooke shrugged her shoulder "I don't understand why it was such a big deal."

Rachel just looked at Brooke as if to say "You're kidding right". Brooke smiled "Okay maybe_ I_ can see why but that's me. Peyton usually wouldn't care about something like this"

"Well if you want my opinion" Rachel began "Screw Peyton, you didn't chose Lucas as your partner, it just happened, you were just meant to be together and I know you want to work with him so just forget about Peyton"

"I don't know" Brooke said turning to face Rachel and Mouth "I mean, excluding the public humiliation and arguing with Peyton I was… kinda relieved."

Rachel shook her head, completely confused by what Brooke had just said "Okay you totally lost me, you were relieved?"

"Yeah. When I said that Peyton and Lucas should be partners it felt like I was back in… in my safe zone"

"Your safe zone?" Rachel asked, still confused.

"Don't get me wrong I wanted to be Lucas's partner it's just… I'm scared, scared of opening up all those feelings again. I'm scared of being around him, even when we're just talking in the hall I go back to being that girl at Haley and Nathan's wedding. Heart-broken and scared"

Rachel reached out, pulling Brooke into a hug "If Lucas makes you feel like that, why are you friends with him?"

"Because he's the only one who can stop me from feeling that way, he can make me feel safe and loved" Both Mouth and Rachel looked at her sadly, as Brooke continued "Isn't it funny" Brooke said "He's the only guy who's ever broken my heart and… he's the only one who can fix it." Brooke took a deep breath, picking up her bag. "I think I'm gonna go home"

"Okay" Rachel nodded sympathetically "I'll see you at home"

"Okay" Brooke began to walk towards the bathroom door when Mouth spoke for the first since he had entered the room.

"Brooke, wait"

Brooke turned round to face him.

"I don't know what happened today but I know that Lucas cares about you very much and no matter what happened that's not going to change"

Brooke smiled. "Thanks Mouth" she said before leaving. She really didn't want things to change between her and Lucas not for the worse she just didn't know whether being Lucas's partner was a good idea, especially with Peyton so against it. _No. _Brooke thought to herself._ Lucas should be Peyton's partner, it's all too soon for us. _

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Peyton, Peyton!" Lucas called as he followed Peyton into the art rooms.

Peyton marched over to a table at the far end of the room and began getting out her sketch book to draw. Lucas caught up with her shortly, sitting opposite her.

"Peyton, why did you do that?" Lucas asked, catching his breath.

"I'm fine Lucas don't worry about me but thank you for asking" Peyton said sarcastically.

"Answer the question Peyton"

"Why do you care about her?"

"What?" Lucas asked confused at what she was asking.

"You and Brooke, you broke up, you didn't speak, and you're with me now" Peyton said pressing hard on the piece of paper with her pen.

"I don't get what you're…"

"You kissed me in the library, remember when I thought I was going to die, you sat with me and…"

"You kissed me, Peyton" Lucas said looking down. _You kissed me, you kissed me! _

"You didn't push me away" Peyton replied quickly. "And you didn't tell Brooke about it, you kissed me and you kept it a secret as if it meant something"

"No, it's because I didn't want to hurt her, it didn't mean anything so I didn't want to upset her" Lucas replied raising his voice to match Peyton's.

"You should have told her" Peyton replied again quickly "And you spent the day with me on her birthday Lucas" Peyton said bending forward as she spoke every word.

"You said you had a plan to help me get her back"

"God, Lucas STOP! Stop with the excuses. What do you want, who do you want. If anyone should be answering questions it's you, okay. Why did YOU do that?" Peyton said, point at him with her pen.

"Do what Peyton?"

"Why did you stick up for Brooke, why didn't you ask to switch and be my partner? Is it because you want to be Brooke's partner..." Peyton said looking at Lucas

"Yes, I do" Lucas sighed frustrated about the whole thing "What so wrong with that? We're friends"

"What like you and I were friends?"

"No, Brooke and I, it's different"

"Different how Lucas?" Peyton asked unsure about the answer she was going to receive.

Lucas paused. He wanted to give her an answer, an answer that would make her happy but he couldn't answer the question. He and Brooke were different, he didn't know how to describe it, he just felt it. Whenever he was around her, he couldn't help but smile, he could forget about the school, Dan, basketball, everything and he could be there with her, just the two of them and feel whole and he missed her, he always missed her. He missed her when she wasn't around. God, he missed her right now, her smile, her eyes, her…

"Lucas?" Peyton said interrupting Lucas's thoughts. "How is it different?"

"I don't know how, I can't answer that" Lucas said, trying to be honest although he could tell from the disappointment on Peyton's face that it was not what she wanted to hear.

"I love you Lucas" Peyton said reaching out to touch his hands

Lucas looked up at her. He wanted to make her happy he always did, that's why he always there for her, always saving her and that's why he told her he loved her.

"I love you to Peyton, I promise"

The first time Lucas had said that to Peyton was when he first questioned whether he really did love her, whether he was in love with her the way he had been with Brooke. It was something about the way he said it. _"I love you Peyton, I promise" _He couldn't help but promise her it was true as if he was trying to convince her and himself. He never had to promise Brooke he loved her, he knew he did and she knew it too but now with Peyton he found himself doing things, saying things to reassure her and himself.

Peyton reached over to hug Lucas. "I'm sorry about everything" She said in his ear, and even though he knew he should probably be relieved, happy and fixed in this moment all he could really think about was… Brooke.


	12. Damn those multicoloured postits

_Hey everyone, I thought I'd update sooner because the last chapter was a bit short. Enjoy…_

**Chapter Twelve: Damn those multi-coloured post-its**

The bell rang for the end of the lesson and the beginning of lunch.

"Okay class, I'm expecting a plan from each pair about your project and your presentation to the class. As eventful as last lesson was I would not like a repeat. Check your problems at the door, your here to work for you grades; and some of you need to work harder than others" Mr Dawson said glairing at Brooke.

"Really subtle" Brooke muttered sarcastically under her breath as she packed her books in her bag, hoping to get out of class as soon as she could so Mr Dawson wouldn't keep her back to discuss her progress. It's not that she was failing in History she was doing it pretty good, it was Maths and her Maths teacher Mr Hendricks made sure all her teachers knew about it.

Brooke hurried out of the classroom as fast as she could. Rachel wasn't in today, meaning she was left to fend for her herself, luckily Peyton hadn't started anything at cheer practice this morning, she was actually on time surprisingly and she didn't make a fuss when Brooke said she was a little slow on her diagonal. So far everything had gone smoothly today…

"Brooke" a voice called.

Brooke paused. _So much for everything running smoothly._ She recognised that voice anywhere… "Lucas… hi" she said turning around "I was meaning to talk to you."

"Me too" Lucas smiled, that smile that made her melt inside. "Are you okay, after yesterday? I thought I'd catch you in Maths but you weren't there"

"Yeah, I went home. I thought I'd had enough drama for one day" Brooke said forcing a smile.

Lucas smiled back "I'm sorry about what happened yesterday" He apologised.

"It wasn't your fault, I shouldn't have lied…It's just" Brooke began looking up at Lucas "It's just... It's probably going to sound really silly but when you asked me how I did I hadn't even looked at my paper and I just said what I wished I got… well… actually if I was wishing for things I wish I got an A" Brooke began rambled getting a little distracted.

Lucas laughed and so did Brooke. "Sorry, what I was trying to say and it's probably going to sound really stupid but I just…wanted you to be proud of me. I guess that's why I lied"

Lucas smiled at her, titling his head to the side. "That's not stupid and you're not stupid. So you failed one test, if you put your mind to it Brooke you can do loads better next time, you can do anything"

"I'm not so sure about that"

"Well I am. You're going to change the world one day Brooke Davis" Lucas reached out, rubbing Brooke's shoulder. And there it was again that feeling Brooke got when she was around Lucas. God, the things he said and the way he made her feel. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster and….

"I can't be you partner Lucas. You should work with Peyton"

Lucas's face dropped. _No, no, no! _ "Brooke I want to be your partner, I've spoken to Peyton she knows that, it's fine"

"Plus…" Brooke continued "Things might get weird between us and..."

"I thought you wanted us to be friends?"

"I do, its just…" Brooke looked up at Lucas, trying to think of something to say.

"Come on, it'll be fun" Lucas said "I could come round to yours on Thursday after school and I'll even get us some of those multi-coloured post-its you love"

Brooke couldn't help but smile, damn those multi-coloured post-its. Lucas put on that cute face, he knew she loved and with those beautiful blue eyes, how could she say no.

"Yeah sure" Brooke laughed reaching up to give Lucas a hug but before she could actually hug him Peyton stepped in.

"So is everything sorted then?" Peyton asked

Brooke stepped back from Lucas and nodded.

Peyton looked uncomfortable for a moment before saying "I'm sorry about yesterday, I totally over-reacted and…"

"I'm sorry too" Brooke said, smiling politely at Peyton. God, this was so weird. She and Peyton had been best friends for years and here they were apologising "politely" to each other as if they were casual friends. Lucas smiled at the both of them. Despite everything that had happened he had never given up faith in Brooke and Peyton.

"I've got to go, I promised I'd help my mom out in the cafe" Lucas said "I'll see you later" Lucas smiled, leaving Brooke and Peyton.

Brooke just rolled her eyes, she was sure Lucas had just made that up so he could give her and Peyton time to talk.

"So…" Peyton said uncomfortably

"Look Peyton, are you really sure about this partner thing. I mean I think its all been blown way out of proportion and I'm probably making a bigger deal out of it right now my asking you again but I just want to know if you're okay with it, because honestly I can't say I would be if I was with Lucas…"

"Yeah, well we all know we're your lack of trust got you and Lucas don't we" Peyton said bluntly

Brooke looked at her in shock, pausing for a minute to gather her thoughts "Okay, that was a little harsh Peyton but I guess that was fair. So…" Brooke said taking a deep breath "Just ignore how I would feel and concentrate on you. Are you okay with this?" Brooke said trying again.

"Yeah, I am. I trust Lucas"

Brooke nodded. "Okay"

"Okay" Peyton said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You should have seen her; she was standing their telling me that my lack of trust with Lucas was the reason why we broke up"

Rachel popped her head round the bathroom door and glared at Brooke who was brushing her hair.

"Don't give me that look" Brooke said, throwing a scrunchy at Rachel. "There were others reasons why I split up from Lucas"

"Like?" Rachel shouted from the other room.

"Like… erm..." Brooke began to think aloud.

"Like Peyton?" Rachel shouted back.

Brooke rolled her eyes "Okay and …."

"Peyton and Peyton. Yep it was pretty much to do with Peyton and what else was it again…" Rachel asked sarcastically

"Peyton!" Brooke and Rachel said at the same time laughing.

"Seriously Rachel, it wasn't all to do with her, sure she played a significant part in our break up but it wasn't all Peyton."

"Ok fine. Well once you figure out what the other reasons are…oh, what time is it by the way?"

"Erm…" Brooke looked over at the clock "Oh my god, it's nearly 6.30pm"

"Okay what's happening at 6.30… are we having a party?"

"No! I told you when I came back from school. Lucas is coming over to start work on the project." Brooke said rushing around to tidy their room.

"Oh yeah, I remember you saying something about Lucas but I though you were just twittering on about how much you love him. Plus I was still hung-over from last night so you were pretty much a blur with a really high-pitched voice"

"Haha, really cute. Now move it and help me tidy up."

"Oh no! You invited lover boy round, you can tidy up for him, I'm outta here"

"So you're just going to leave?"

"Yeah, you didn't expect me to hang around here and watch you and Lucas pretend to do some work whilst really flirting with each other?"

"For the last time Rachel… we're just friends!"

"With benefits right?" Rachel teased

"Rachel" Brooke shouted, playfully throwing a pillow at Rachel "Out now! You're only slowing me down"

The doorbell rang. Both Brooke and Rachel looked at each other.

"I'll get it, I'll tell him you're getting ready" Rachel joked in a seductive voice

"Don't you dare" Brooke laughed, finishing off tidying up.

Rachel skipped down the stairs, opening the front door.

"Hi Rachel, is Brooke…"

"She's upstairs" Rachel said before leaving "See ya"

Lucas made his way up the stairs. It felt weird being here. He was so used to Brooke's room or what used to be Brooke and Haley's apartment. Lucas got to the landing, wow Rachel's house was big. As he looked straight ahead he could see Brooke in her room, stuffing some things into the top draws. Lucas smiled to himself, she looked so beautiful. He walked over to the door and knocked.

"Hey there" Lucas said

Brooke turned around "Hey, come in" she gestured for Lucas to sit on her bed as she sat on Rachel's. Only now that he was sitting down did she realise that they were in this huge house with loads of rooms, rooms with tables and chair and of all places they were in her bedroom. _Real smart Brooke!_ She thought to herself.

"So this is weird…" Lucas began

"Yeah, I know. We haven't been alone in ages" Brooke said

"Oh… no, I meant being in Rachel's house. I'm used to going to your house or the apartment if I want to see you"

Brooke paused and smiled stupidly._ You idiot!_ Brooke screamed to herself. _He wasn't talking about the two of you he was talking about the house, the house, and way to make the situation uncomfortable._ Brooke thought to herself.

"Oh yeah, I see what you meant. I was only saying that…erm… we... erm" Brooke bit her lip, even though she was stuttering and probably looking like a complete idiot she could help but want to laugh.

Lucas burst out laughing followed by Brooke

"You were saying?" Lucas asked still laughing

Brooke smiled, biting her lip again "Okay where are the post-its I was promised?"


	13. Some pervert thinks I’m a prostitute

_So here's the next chapter. I didn't get many reviews last update, tell me what you think of how the story's going guys, i'd like to know!_

**Chapter Thirteen: Some pervert thinks I'm a prostitute**

_Really good_

_Remember this!_

_Really, really good_

Read the post-it's stuck to the table in between Mouth and Lucas.

"And here's another one" Mouth said as he removed yet another post-it from the page he was trying to read. _Luc, we have to include this! _Read the post-it.

"Who knew looking up The Cold War could be so hard. If only I needed to find information on the French Revolution, you see that would be easy seeing as you've practically marked everything" Mouth said pulling out another post-it.

Lucas laughed "Okay, first of all that wasn't me. Brooke gets a little crazy with the post-its and second of all, why aren't you using your own textbook?" Lucas asked putting some of the post-its back on the page.

"Because I forgot mine" Mouth said as he continued to search through the book "And I have these questions to do for next period"

Lucas raised his eyebrow "That's not like you Mouth, everything okay?"

Mouth looked up at Lucas, what exactly could he say to that… _No everything's not fine Lucas, I'm tired and really forgetful because I've been spending most of my time trying to bring down your father for murdering your uncle… but I'll try and get some beauty sleep._

"I'm just working hard for finals." Mouth lied.

Lucas nodded. _Typical Mouth_

"So how is it working with Brooke?" Mouth asked, changing the subject.

"It's great. I'm really glad we get to spend more time together. Did you know that when we first broke up she didn't even want to be friends?"

"Erm… no I didn't" Mouth said, continuing to search through Lucas's textbook

"I guess she was still hurt about everything. I think she still is, but she's letting me in, trying to be friends with me and I'm so grateful for that because… I couldn't imagine not having her in my life…" Lucas paused; he honestly didn't know why he was being so open with Mouth. It wasn't that Mouth wasn't a good friend of his but it had been a long-time since he talked about how he felt about Brooke to anyone.

"What, as a friend?" Mouth asked

Before Lucas could answer the question Peyton approached the table. "Hi guys" she said as she sat next to Lucas "What are you doing?"

Mouth looked at Lucas as if to tell him to answer the question, but Lucas's face went blank

"Well…" Mouth began "I was just trying to find some information on the Cold War but Lucas's book is covered in post-its"

"Post-its?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah, apparently Brooke gets really excited about the post-its and started writing little notes…" Mouth looked up at Peyton, who didn't seem amused by the story and judging by the look on Lucas's face he decided it best he stop talking.

"You know what; I think I'd probably have more luck finding some information on the internet. I'm gonna go." Mouth said, sensing the awkward moment.

Mouth got up from the table and made a speedy exit out of the library. Even though all the information he needed, could be found in the library, he had decided there was no point as he definitely wasn't going to finish his work for next lesson. _I'll probably skip. _Mouth thought to himself. God, what was happening to him, "skipping class" and landing Lucas in that awkward situation with Peyton. Mouth needed to get some sleep and stop worrying about Dan.

"Boo!" Mouth jumped, turning around to see Brooke.

"My God Brooke" Mouth said catching his breath

"Sorry Mouth… why are you so jumpy? Are you okay?" Brooke asked.

There it was again that question.

"You can tell me Mouth" Brooke continued "Is everything okay. Is it school?" Brooke asked.

Mouth just looked at her as she began to ask him all the possible things that could be bothering him. _Had she completely forgotten everything he told her?_

"If there's anything you want me to do Mouth…"

Mouth couldn't take it anymore, he understood that they were surrounded by people and she was probably trying her best not to bring it up but he just had to say something, however rude or unfair it might be otherwise he was going to scream… "Unless…" Mouth began in a bitter, condescending tone "Unless, you can find a way to get Dan to admit to…" Before Mouth could finish his sentence Brooke pulled him into the empty classroom next to them.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at Mouth?" Brooke said looking through the now closed door of the classroom "Did you want the whole school to know, before you've even told Lucas. What the hell were you trying to do?" Brooke said, trying to keep her cool.

"Me? What about you? Pretending like nothing's happened" Mouth spat back. He knew what he saying was unfair, he knew she was just trying to keep his secret but he was angry and tired with the whole Dan issue and the only person who knew, the only person he could take it out on was Brooke.

"Pretending? I can't believe you Mouth, you tell me this huge secret, which I can't tell anyone about, which I can't tell Lucas or Karen about and expect me to keep quiet which, has been killing me by the way and now you excuse me of not caring!" Brooke's voice began to break "Do you know how hard it's been keeping this from Lucas, looking him in the face everyday and knowing, not saying anything. I was with him when Keith died, with Karen and now I have to lie to them" A tear fell down Brooke's face.

Mouth looked down. What had he done? He should have never told her. He never knew how she felt because she never said anything, not like this anyway "I know its not much but, at least your not putting them through all of that pain again"

"I try telling myself that, but I know and you know it's wrong"

Mouth looked away, he knew she was right.

"It makes me sick thinking about what Dan did and even sicker knowing that he's out there right now carrying on as if he didn't do anything. Don't think that I'm keeping this secret because I want to because I don't, you hear me, I don't want to. But because you're my friend and you begged me not to, I have. I honestly don't know what sort of person that makes me but that's what I'm doing and how I chose to try and cope with it is up to me, okay! Don't ask me not to say anything and blurt out things like that in the hall"

"Brooke I…"

"I can't talk about this anymore Mouth" Brooke said, grabbing her bag and walking out the classroom. Mouth watched as she disappeared down the hall. Mouth hated feeling this way, for some reason whenever he felt angry about Dan he seemed to take it out on Brooke. _Dan shouldn't be allowed to get away with this!_ Mouth thought to himself. He grabbed his bag and headed down the hall. There was no point staying in school today. He'd rather be doing something more useful with his time like… trying to bring down Dan.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Lucas approached his locker he saw a pink post-it reading…

_I'll meet you in the café after practise. _

_Brooke xxx_

Lucas smiled to himself. The past two weeks working with Brooke had been great. At first he could see that she found it hard to let her guard done but within a few minutes of them talking and laughing together it felt like nothing had changed. Lucas reached up to open his locker as Peyton came over pulling off the post-it.

"So you're going to be hanging out with Brooke again. It's like the fifth time in two weeks"

"We have a lot of work to do" Lucas replied getting his books out of his locker

"Really? Because we're doing the same project and Rachel and I haven't met up once"

"That's because you and Rachel for some reason, don't seem to get along and you're both too stubborn to just talk to each other"

"You and Brooke must get along really, really well then" Peyton said suggestively

Lucas just looked at her; he wasn't going to respond to that.

"And what's with the kisses?" Peyton paused and thought about what she about to say next "She still has feelings for you Lucas"

Lucas couldn't help but look up as Peyton said that. _Really, could she?_ Lucas felt himself smile but looking at Peyton, instantly tried laughed off the suggestion. "They're just a few crosses on a piece of paper"

"No, they're not. If she had just done one kiss then maybe but she did three"

Lucas was completely confused by Peyton's logic "What difference does that make?" he asked

"Forget it" Peyton said, scrunching up the post-it and throwing it in a nearby bin.

"I've got to go" Lucas said shutting his locker "Sorry Peyt." Lucas began heading down the hall.

"Call me!" Peyton shouted after him, Lucas turned around and nodded before continuing to walk down the hall. Peyton stood there for a moment dreading the thought of having cheer practice with her boyfriends new best friend, but knew it best for everyone sakes she go, she didn't want to give Brooke another reason to play the victim.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brooke tried to walk as quickly as she could, not only was it cold and windy but it was dark. _I will never, ever let Rachel borrow my car again!_ Brooke said to herself as she wrapped her arms around herself to keep her warm. She was wearing her cheerleading outfit, which believe it or not was not made for insulation against cold winds. Brooke had let Rachel borrow he car at lunch and being the genius that Rachel was she had lost the car keys by the end of day. _How someone manages to lose car keys is beyond me._ Brooke thought to herself. Better still Rachel had managed to get a lift off some sophomore and being the kind person she is forgot to tell Brooke where she had parked the car, for all Brooke knew some lucky punk of the street could have found the car keys and stolen the car. Brooke rolled her eyes just thinking about it.

A gush of wind blew past, Brooke felt the cold against her chest, and she hurried down the road, trying her best to walk really fast without actually running. As she turned the corner of the road she saw a car slowdown, edging towards the pavement.

_Great, some pervert thinks I'm a prostitute. _Brooke began walking a little faster, however the driver continued to follow her down the road, flashing for her to stop. _Stay calm, keep walking, they'll get bored and drive off._ Brooke tried to tell herself, but the driver seemed to become persistent and was now hooting. _Okay, I'm screwed. _Brooke thought she could be brave walking alone in the dark on what looked like a completely deserted road. Karen's Café had never seemed this far before, mind you she was always driving. She didn't want to call for help but the road looked like it was getting longer and the stupid driver wouldn't leave her alone.

_Beep, beep_

The driver hooted again flashing his head lights. Brooke rummaged through her bag. "Come one, come on, come on" She said to herself looking for her cell. _Where is it? _She could feel the car slowing down and coming to a stop _Oh my god the guy is getting out the car!!_ Brooke reached into her bag one more time, grabbing her cell. She continued to walk quickly; she didn't want to run just in case the guy got angry, she could hear his footsteps get faster. _Oh my god! _She clutched onto her bag and opened her cell. She could here the guy behind her walking even faster now. Her hands were shaking, she pressed speed dial 1 and waited for it to start ringing.

"Pick up, pick up. Please pick up!" Brooke whispered frantically.

Just then she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her body froze. _Run, run, run… you idiot!_

"Miss Davis?" The voice said.

Brooke turned around slowly.

"Mr Scott?" Brooke said turning around. _Oh my God it's Dan!_

"Hello Brooke?" Said the person on the other end of the line

"Are you going to get that?" Dan asked, pointing to her cell.

Brooke was still recovering from the shock of what had just happened. "Erm…" she said pulling the phone up her ear, only for it to cut off "My batteries dead"

"I saw you walking and I wondered whether you wanted a lift, seeing as I'm on my way to Karen's anyway"

_I bet you are. And you just had to chase me down the street and nearly give me a damn heartache_.

"I'd been trying to get you attention for a while, was everything okay?"

_What sort of question is that, of course I'm not okay Mr. Murdering Scott; you bloody chased me down the road in your Mr. Mayor car and made me think I was being followed. Other than that I'm just peachy. _"Erm… yeah, I had my earphones in" As soon as the words came out of Brookes mouth she realised how silly they were. Both she and Dan looked at each other, she wasn't wearing any earphones. Brooke smiled nervously.

Dan just looked at her, implying he knew more than he was letting on. "So Miss Davis would you like a lift or…?"

All of Brooke's instincts screamed for her not to get in his car, that she should rather walk than get in the car with the devil but, it was so cold and she couldn't exactly say no, not without making herself look even more suspicious than she already did.

"Yes, thank you Mr. Scott"

They both walked back towards the car. As Brooke walked over and sat in the passenger's seat she thought to herself. _This is going to be a very long journey._

Dan grinned "Don't forget your seatbelt Miss Davis."


	14. You don't like me very much

_Here's the next chapter! In this chapter all the writting in italic are Brooke's thoughts. Enjoy!_

**Chapter Fourteen: You don't like me very much**

"You don't like me very much, Miss Davis, do you?" Dan said looking over at her and then back onto the road.

_What sort of question is that? _Brooke thought to herself. _Of course I don't like you, you murdered Uncle Keith!_

"Erm… I… well… I…" Brooke stuttered

Dan laughed "I was just being joking Miss. Davis. So how's school?"

_Like you care! _"Fine thank you Mr. Scott"

"Please call me Dan" Dan grinned looking at Brooke.

_Okay I officially threw up in my mouth! _Brooke smiled back politely

"I bet you must have quite an effect on all the boys" Dan continued.

_Kill me, kill me now!! _Brooke looked down uncomfortably.

"You're still going out with Lucas aren't you?" Dan asked, fully aware of the fact that she wasn't.

"No, not anymore" Brooke said quickly. _Stupid ass, he knows I'm not!_

"Right sorry, I must have you confused with the other girl... what's her name?" Dan asked again, already knowing the answer.

Brooke took a deep breath. "Peyton"

"That's it, so how did that work out anyway, weren't you two best friends?" Dan was clearly enjoying this.

"We were" Brooke stressed

"And… what, you're not anymore?"

"That's what I meant by 'we were'" Brooke replied

Dan grinned "Don't worry, I always liked you better"

_And I'm literally opening this car door and jumping out of this car! _Brooke screamed to herself. _Walking in the dark actually seems a hell of a lot better right now! _Brooke shuffled her feet, trying to stay calm. She wasn't going to let Dan intimidate her. "No offence Mr. Scott…"

"Dan"

Brooke smiled politely "Sorry" She continued "Don't you talk to Lucas about any of these things"

Dan smiled to himself, so she wants to be smart does she? "Yes, I do Miss. Davis. Less than I'd like to but I do" Dan paused "In fact we've spoken about you" Dan couldn't help but smile to himself.

_Me? _Brooke took a few deep breaths "All good things I hope" She said calmly

"When you had that pregnancy scare, a year ago"

_Lucas spoke to Dan about it! _Brooke just continued to look at the road ahead.

"He came to me for some advice"

_No way! _"He actually asked you what he should do." Brooke asked trying her best not to look at Dan.

"No, but I told him what I thought. Do you know what I said?"

Brooke didn't reply.

"I told him that hopefully he could now understand what I did and that if he were smart he'd do the same too."

Brooke turned to look at Dan, the hurt apparent on her face. _How could he be so cold, I'm sitting right here and he's telling me how he told Lucas to abandon me. _"You told him that, in those exact words"

"Close enough" Dan paused savouring the moment "Don't get me wrong Miss. Davis you're a beautiful girl…" Brooke cringed. "But Lucas… he needs guidance, he grew up without a father, which I know is my fault but…"

"He had Keith" Brooke said, her voice full of bitterness.

Dan turned to look at her.

"He had Keith, until you ruined it" Brooke said firmly.

"If you have something to say Miss Davis…"

"You with your scheming, lying and manipulation, you hired Jules to seduce him and embarrass him in front of his friends and family. Because of you Lucas lost all those months with Keith, time that he'll never get back, because of you and your petty vendetta. I hope you're proud of yourself"

"Well, well Peyton… I mean Brooke; you seem awfully protective of Lucas don't you think that's the sort of things his girlfriend should be worried about" Dan replied challenging Brooke.

"You're poison! You ruined Keith's life, you ruined Karen's and now you're trying to do the same to Lucas!" Brooke was practically shouting by now. "You killed Keith; you might as well have pulled the trigger. You, his own brother tried to make his life a living hell… YOU KILLED HIM!"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Dan shouted. All of a sudden Dan reached out and grabbed Brooke's wrist.

Brooke jumped; his fingers digging into her wrist. "You're hurting me!" Brooke screamed, trying to wriggle free of his grip.

"Now you listen to me little girl and you listen well!" Dan shouted in her face "You know nothing; you are nothing, so stay out of business that doesn't not concern you! Do you understand me?" Dan shouted

"Get off me!" Brooke spat back trying to wriggle free of his grasp which only resulted in Dan gripping harder.

"Do you understand me?" Dan asked once again

"Yes!" Brooke cried. Dan released Brooke's wrist allowing her to run her other arm over it, massaging her wrist.

Dan looked at the road and then back towards Brooke. Why did she have to open her mouth and talk about things she didn't know!

Oh God, what had he done? She was sure to tell Lucas. How could he explain it? How could he have been so reckless, so out of control? What the hell had he done? Think, quickly think!

Dan took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Brooke; I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just the things that you said were very hurtful. I lost my brother less than a year ago and you're accusing me of ruining his life"

Brooke glared up at Dan, still massaging her wrist. _How can he even try and turn this around on me? I know what he did!_

"I don't know about you, but I think you owe me an apology"

Brooke squint her eyes, in complete disbelief. _I what? Owe you an apology? You must be kidding me?_

Dan turned to look at Brooke. "I invite you into my car to give you a lift and this is how you thank me?"

_He was actually serious. He wants me to apologies._ Brooke stopped and thought of Mouth, how he had begged her not to say anything, how he had told her no one would believe them. Seeing now what Dan was capable of Brooke was sure that confronting him was not the way to solve anything. He was dangerous, even more so than Brooke had imagined, you see at first she found it hard to imagine Dan, or anyone killing their own brother, but now after looking into Dan's eyes… she saw it. She knew it. All she had to do now was prove it.Brooke took a deep breath "I'm sorry Dan" Brooke lied.

Dan nodded.

"Oh and its Mr. Scott to you"

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As they pulled up to Karen's café Brooke undid her seatbelt to get out the car as fast she could.

"Miss Davis" Dan called as Brooke began to get out the car

"Remember, you don't have to worry, I won't mention this to Karen or Lucas. Just remember your manners next time. And about giving you a lift… you're welcome." Dan smiled

Brooke wanted to smash his stupid teeth in. Instead she nodded, smiled and got out the car. "Thank you for the lift Mr. Scott" she said slamming the car door, hurrying into Karen's café.

The café was quiet and Lucas was sitting in the corner.

"Hey Brooke" Lucas said getting up.

Without thinking about what it meant or how it would look Brooke buried herself in Lucas's chest.

As if he did it everyday, Lucas wrapped his arms around her. "Are you alright?" He asked, stroking her hair, God he missed holding her. Lucas felt her nod. "I got your call but we got cut off. I tried ringing you back but…"

"My battery was dead." Brooke said stepping out of the hug. Lucas ran his hands through Brooke's hair again, looking into her eyes.

Brooke looked back into Lucas's eyes; she could feel her heart beating faster. "I'm sorry I'm late" Brooke said, trying to regain some control.

Lucas smiled. "It's fine, as long as you're okay. Are you sure everything's okay, you seem really shaky"

"I'm fine, seriously." Brooke said, stepping back from Lucas once again whilst brushing her hair behind her ears.

"What time is it anyway?" Lucas asked looking around at the clock

Brooke looked down at her watch, "Erm… it's just gone…"

"What happened to your wrist?" Lucas asked

Brooke looked down again at her wrist. She hadn't noticed in the car but now in the light it was really red and swollen. Brooke looked up at Lucas. Just then Dan walked into the café. He didn't need to ask, he could tell what was going on.

Lucas asked again "What happened to your wrist Brooke?"

Brooke looked down at her wrist and back at Lucas. _Think, think! _She didn't want to have to lie to him. Not even more than she already was. But how could she tell him. _Say something, say something quickly!_

"She hurt it during cheerleading practice. Didn't you Brooke?" Dan said calmly

Both Brooke and Lucas turned to face Dan, then back at each other. "Is that true?" Lucas asked

Brooke opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off once again my Dan.

"That what she told me, it's that right Miss Davis" Dan said as calm as before

"I asked Brooke not you, Dan" Lucas snapped at Dan. He didn't know why but something just seemed a little odd about the whole situation. How did Dan know she hurt her wrist at practice, it didn't make any sense.

"I'll be fine" Brooke smiled nervously. Lucas reached out and rubbed Brooke's arm.

"So how do you know about this Dan? Unless you've decided to quit hassling Whitey and settle for coaching the cheerleaders" Lucas said turning to face Dan

"I gave Brooke a lift here, it was dark and she was clearly upset about her wrist so I offered her a lift"

Brooke just stood there looking in amazement at how well Dan lied. He didn't look nervous, he wasn't sweating, nothing, cool as ever. I guess all those months of lying about killing his brother came in handy for sticky situations such as these.

"How kind of you" Lucas said sarcastically and not entirely convinced, still he knew better than to push it with Dan. Challenging him only seemed to make him quicker, smugger… smarter.

Dan shrugged his shoulders, ignoring Lucas's sarcasm. "Where's your mother?"

"I'm here" Karen said, walking out from the back of the café. "Everybody alright?" She said, before noticing Brooke's wrist "Oh dear, how did that happen?"

"Cheerleading practice" Dan answered again

"Oh no, there are some ice packs in the house, Lucas would you…"

"Yeah, sure mom, come on Brooke. I'll see you at home mom" Lucas said picking up his bag and Brooke's before leading their way out the café.

"Thanks Karen" Brooke smiled politely before following Lucas out of the café.

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_Hope you liked the chapter, go on click 'review' and tell me what you think!_


	15. Settle for a bitter bridesmaid

_Hey everyone, thank you for your reviews I'm glad you're enjoying the story. This chapter is the longest I've updated (for you photobooth romance, lol)._

_Enjoy…._

**Chapter Fifteen: Settle for a bitter bridesmaid**

"Here you go" Lucas said placing the pack on Brooke's wrist

"Thanks" She smiled.

"Are you sure you don't want to go and get it checked out?"

"No, I'm fine"

"How did you do it anyway?" Lucas asked

"Do what…oh right, my wrist. Erm… I'm not quite sure, anyway how was school today?" Brooke said obviously trying to change the subject.

Lucas paused for a moment hesitant to carry on. He knew something wasn't right but, he also knew he wasn't going to force Brooke to talk about it if she didn't want to. "Fine, you?"

"Same." Brooke replied.

There was silence for a moment. All Brooke could think about was what had happened in the car, she kept replaying it over and over in her head, and she couldn't actually believe that she had said those things to Dan.

"_You killed Keith, you might as well have pulled the trigger. You, his own brother tried to make his life a living hell… YOU KILLED HIM!"_

"Brooke? You okay?" Lucas asked clearly worried by her silence

Brooke snapped out of her daze. "Yeah, I'm fine"

"Are you sure you don't want to go and get checked out, I mean you could have fallen really bad"

Brooke tried to laugh it off "Seriously, I'm fine, I'm just really tired"

"You can crash her if you'd like?" Lucas asked.

Brooke looked up at Lucas and then back down again at her ice-pack "I don't think that's a very good idea" Brooke said, getting up and placing the ice pack on the table.

"Why not?" Lucas asked trying to be casual about it.

"You're kidding right?" _Hasn't he learnt anything, he's going out with Peyton and he's asking me to stay for a cosy little sleepover… unbelievable. Doesn't he ever hangout with the person he's actually going out with! _"You know what Lucas, I've had a long day and you've been really sweet, thank you for the ice-pack, my wrist feels a lot better" She nodded, tucking her chair in "And…I'm going to go"

"You don't have to do that" Lucas said getting up from the table.

"Oh, but I think I do."

"Brooke, wait"

"Maybe, and this may come as a surprise to you but maybe you could, I don't ring your girlfriend talk to her instead of wanting to hang out with girls who aren't your girlfriend" Brooke said reaching for her bag.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, seriously I shouldn't have said anything. I'm just tired"

"Would you stop saying your tired and actually answer my question at least once tonight"

Brooke turned round to look at Lucas "Well all I'm saying is that you seem awfully eager to hang out with anyone and everyone except your girlfriend..." Brooke snapped back

"So this is about Peyton?" Lucas asked confused about where this was going

"It always is" Brooke muttered trying to pick up her gym bag.

"Brooke…"

"I was being sarcastic Lucas; for once it isn't about Peyton it's was about you and your ability to make being your girlfriend one of the loneliest things in the world"

_Ouch._ Brooke's words were hurtful, but at least she was being honest with him talking about how she felt. "You're the one who stopped missing me Brooke, remember?" Lucas fired back.

"You think I wanted to? You made it so hard Lucas. You'd go days without speaking to me, without calling me, just spending, god knows how many hours hanging out and listening to music with Peyton. Didn't YOU miss me?"

"I did, I…"

Brooke interrupted Lucas once again "Instead you'd call her and do what ever it is you'd do together…" Brooke said raising her voice.

"So this IS about Peyton" Lucas said dropping his hands down by his sides in frustration.

"No, it wasn't but seeing as you brought her up AGAIN, why don't we talk about your precious Peyton and your incessant need to always be around her, even when you knew it was hard for me, even when you knew I was trying to trust you" Brooke's voice was getting louder and louder

"Trying? What did you want me to do Brooke? Not talk to Peyton?" Lucas raised his voice to match Brooke's.

"No Lucas, of course not, it's just… imagine that I had wanted to be friends with… Chris Keller"

Lucas winced at the sound of his name "Brooke…"

"No. Would you have been okay with me hanging out with him all the time, would you?"

"You know I wouldn't, it's just the situation was different with Peyton okay. She needed me"

"I needed you Lucas… I needed you to love me enough to let me in" Brooke said feeling herself tear up. "I gave you my heart Lucas but you could never give me yours not fully"

"Brooke…" Lucas whispered

"I should go" Brooke said trying once again to pick up her gym bag, which was tangled to the chair leg. Brooke fell back onto the chair frustrated "Stupid, stupid bag"

Lucas smiled sadly she looked so beautiful when she was pissed off. "Here, let me help you" Lucas said softly. At first Brooke was reluctant but Lucas didn't pull away, managing to help untangle her bag from underneath the chair leg. Lucas looked up at Brooke; a tear fell down Brooke's cheek, as she quickly wiped it away.

How did they end up like this, arguing? Why did it feel like everything they argued about all there problems were going on right now when they broke up a long time ago? Why were they arguing when they were supposed to have moved on, when they were supposed to be friends, I mean he was with Peyton now, why did he care so much how Brooke felt, why did his heart ache when he even began to think just for a second about how much he hurt her.

"I was never enough for you. I gave you my heart Lucas and it wasn't enough" Brooke slowly got up and picked up her bag and left; leaving Lucas sitting there, still. He had wanted her to talk to him honestly for so long, all those times when they had just broken up she'd walk past him in the hall and not even flinch as they passed one another, he wished she would just turn around, turn around and talk to him, shout at him anything just tell him how she really felt and now… here it was. Lucas knew they had only scratched the surface of how Brooke felt but it hurt. It killed him knowing he had hurt the girl he loved so much. That she was hurting because of him.

"_Brooke wait!" Lucas called out. Brooke turned around, with her hand still on the door handle_

"_Don't go" Lucas continued_

"_I'm sorry Lucas" Brooke turned the handle and opened the door slowly. She didn't want to go, everything inside her told her to stay, to talk to Lucas, to be with Lucas, to kiss Lucas._

_At that moment Lucas got up from the table and walked across the hall to Brooke. He was standing so close she could feel him breathing. She could feel his heart racing. He closed the door, almost as if to dare her, dare her to stay, dare her to be with him, to love him, to want him back._

_Brooke's heart was beating fast, faster and faster. She turned to face Lucas, but she knew she couldn't look up at him, she knew if she did she couldn't control herself, she'd lose herself in his eyes._

_Lucas could feel her heart beating faster and faster, but she wasn't looking up at him. He knew why, the same reason why he could never allow himself to stand this close to her, to be near her. Even though he tried to deny it, he knew what he was doing; he knew that he wanted to be with her, he knew that he wanted to touch her, to kiss her. Lucas placed the tips of his fingers under chin, raising her head. He looked down at her, at her eyes, her lips, the freckles on her nose. Everything, how could he have been so stupid before, how could he have let her go._

"_Lucas I…"_

_Before she could finish the sentence Lucas kissed her, he kissed her with such passion, desperation and love. Brooke dropped her bag, falling back against the door, wrapping her arms round Lucas's neck. In that moment in that kiss, there was no one else but Brooke and Lucas, no one else._

"Lucas! Lucas!" Karen called from the kitchen.

Lucas woke up in a pool of sweat. He looked around and then across at his watch.

"Lucas?" Karen called entering his room "Are you not going into school today, you're late"

Lucas looked around still confused. _It had felt so real!_

"Lucas? Are you alright?" Karen asked coming over to check his temperature "You feel warm, maybe you're coming down with something?"

"No, mom, I'm fine. I just need a cold shower and I'll be okay"

Karen paused for a while then nodded "Ok, well I'm off to the café. If you need anything, call me" She said before leaving.

Lucas heard the front door slam, and fell back into bed. _Oh, what a dream!_

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Lucas walked down the hall heading towards his locker after missing his first two lessons. He got his books out of his locker for his third lesson, just as the bell went for the end of third period. "Great, I guess the lessons over." He said putting his books back.

The halls started to fill with people flooding out from their lessons. Just then Brooke walked out the classroom, coming face to face with Lucas. She paused looking him up and down before heading down the hall.

Lucas shut his locker quickly, following her down the hall. He recognised that look. That look she gave the world to hide her fears and insecurities, that look she gave him to protect herself, to protect her heart. "Brooke, wait!"

Brooke didn't even turn around; instead she looked straight ahead trying her best to get out of the school building.

"Brooke!" Lucas said trying to catch up with. _God she walks fast!_

"Lucas" Brooke replied not slowing down "I really don't think we should do this right n…"

Lucas interrupted her ignoring her suggestion "I'm sorry about last night"

"Right now" Brooke said finishing off her sentence

"I know that an apology isn't good enough I know that, but I am sorry, I'm sorry for last night and I'm sorry for…"

"I've heard you're apologies Lucas, why don't you make me a mixed tape of apologies. Track one could be from Nathan and Haley's wedding when I poured my heart out to you, asking you to let me in and you said "I'm sorry Brooke" and track two could be when I broke up with you, told you how I was feeling, tried to reach out to you and all you could say was "I'm sorry Brooke" she said continuing to walk straight ahead, not even turning around to talk to him.

"What else did you want me do to, and don't say fight for you because I tri…"

"Trust me, I wouldn't have asked you to do that, I try not to make the same mistake twice, well three times in our case"

There it was again, her words, her attempts to hurt people so they'd leave her alone "You know the more you do that the harder I'm gonna try to talk to you" Lucas said continuing to follow her.

"The more I do what?" Brooke asked walking just as fast as before

"Trying to push me away by saying mean things to hurt me, look Brooke, its just hard for me to talk about things but don't think that I didn't love you because…"

"You did right?" Brooke said finishing his sentence "Right, right. You see Lucas…" Brooke said suddenly turning around to face him "Love is all about the little things, you can keep saying you loved me Lucas but that's not it, love isn't a word or an expression you can't think about it, you feel it! Love is crazy… unconditional…head-over heals and completely inconvenient. It's giving your heart to someone fully and completely; and trusting them to guard it with their life."

Lucas just stood there looking at Brooke. He wanted to tell her that he felt that way, that she made him feel that way, that she was the one for him. That love was journey, it wasn't perfect, it had its hard times and great times but if there was one person in the world that he'd want to take that journey with it… would be her. It's not that he didn't know what to say it's that he didn't know how to say.

"What are you two love birds "not talking about"" Rachel said walking over to them. Rachel looked between Lucas and Brooke who had successfully ignored her little comment. "Wow you look really angry Brooke, and…. Lucasyou look…confused. Let me guess… Lucas you've decided to marry "skinny blonde bitch" and Brooke you're going ontour with that "talent less, old but totally hot musician""

Brooke just rolled her eyes; Rachel smiled looking around "Oh, Peyton's coming over" she said turning to Brooke and Lucas "You guys pretend to be friends, okay"

"Dum dum de-dum dum dum de-dum" Rachel started humming.

Brooke hit Rachel on the arm "God don't get angry with me, you never know maybe Peyton will ask you to be her maid of honour"

"Hey Lucas" Peyton said as she approached the three of them. "You and Brooke doing some more research?" she asked bitterly

Brooke subtly shook her head. _How nice of you to pretend I'm not even here Peyton._

"On second thought…" Rachel began "You might have to settle for a bitter bridesmaid"

"What is she talking about?" Peyton asked Lucas, gesturing over to Rachel.

"Okay first of all 'she' has a name…" Rachel said clearly pissed off by Peyton's comment "And secondly shouldn't you be asking that question to Mr and Mrs Smith over here" Rachel smirked.

"Rachel!" Brooke said

Peyton crossed her arms, she wasn't the slight bit amused by Rachel's sarcasm. "So…?" Peyton asked looking over at Lucas, who obviously hadn't even really digested what was going on. One minute he was apologising to Brooke, the next Rachel was arranging a wedding, a tour and now Peyton was pissed off at him. _I should have stayed in bed today. _Lucas thought to himself.

Brooke decided to break the long silence "We were just arranging a time when we could meet up to do some more work on our project" Brooke said, before having a quick thought "Actually we were thinking we could all get together, seeing as we're working on the same project" Lucas looked up at Brooke. _Man she's mad at me. _Lucas thought to himself.

Peyton smiled. "Good idea Brooke" She said addressing her for the first time since she had come over.

"Yeah, great idea" Both Rachel and Lucas muttered, clearly unimpressed by the new idea.

"Ok, sound more enthusiastic, why don't you?" Peyton said, nudging Lucas

"No, its not that" Lucas said trying to laugh it off "It's just that well you and Rachel haven't even met up once so you guys don't really know what you're doing yet, whereas Brooke and I have a plan and everything"

"So…?"

"So I was thinking maybe it would be best if you and Rachel met up a few times first, because Brooke and I are kinda past the research stage now. I don't know, what do you think Rachel?" Lucas asked turning to face Rachel.

Rachel just stared back at all three of them "So you're basically asking me whether I'd like to spend a whole evening with the love triangle from hell, or… the cheerleader from hell" Rachel replied, eyeing Peyton.

"You know what, I'm outta here" Peyton said turning to walk away.

"I really do think my original idea was best" Brooke said "Really it was"

"Wait up, Peyton" Lucas said jogging over to her. "Look I know you want us to spend more time together, but I really think its best you actually get some work done with Rachel, otherwise you're going to flunk" Lucas said

Peyton stopped, turned around glancing over at Brooke "Is that why, you're working so hard with Brooke… so that you don't flunk?" Peyton asked not caring that Brooke could actually hear her.

Brooke scoffed as Rachel linked arms with her "Trust me, she is not worth it" Rachel whispered to Brooke.

"Hey Peyton…" Rachel called out "Be at my house tomorrow at 1pm, okay"

"But tomorrow is Saturday" Peyton replied

"Well done" Rachel said sarcastically, before turning around with Brooke and heading down the hall.

"Brooke…?" Lucas called out, but she didn't respond instead she and Rachel disappeared down the hall.

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Rachel was lying on the sofa, flicking between channels as Brooke hurried down the stairs.

"Aren't you going to make any effort, you know books, pens… anything." Brooke asked, brushing her hair in the mirror.

"Why should I? Peyton's got a big enough head… I mean brain for the two of us"

Brooke laughed "Okay, I get why I'm not friends with her but do you even have a reason or are you pretty much a bitch to anyone"

"Ha ha, very funny. Peyton just annoys me. But… you never know, Peyton and I could bond over the great French Revolution, become best friends and she could give me tips on how to steal your future boyfriends"

"Ha" Brooke mocked

"Ha" Rachel repeated

"Okay, well I'm gonna get out of here, before she gets here" Brooke said putting her mobile in her bag.

"So what are you doing today…? Lucas?" Rachel teased

"I'm ignoring that! I don't know actually, might go to the mall… Okay, well see ya"

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Rachel called out

"There's nothing you wouldn't do" Brooke teased

"I know, Lucas will be so pleased" Rachel replied in a seductive voice

"I'm leaving now" Brooke said before grabbing her bag. "Bye!"

Fifteen minutes later the doorbell rang. Rachel walked over to the door, opening it.

"Hi" Peyton said, carrying a stack of books

"I knew you'd come through with the books" Rachel said gesturing for her to enter.

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Lucas lay back on his bed shooting his mini basketball at the mini net that hung on the opposite wall. He had managed to talk himself out of ringing Brooke seeing as she was obviously still mad at him. It was a Saturday and he was at home, moping. He couldn't exactly pin-point his reasons for feeling down but he knew he was. Nathan and Skills had called him early to see if he wanted to go down to the river court but he ended up telling them he had loads of work to do and would come down later, but he knew he wouldn't. Instead he could see himself moping over the phone, wondering whether or not he should ring Brooke.

_Ding dong_. The doorbell rang. Lucas raised his head momentarily thinking of who it could be. Mom had a key, Dan never bothered ringing the doorbell he just came in, Brooke was still mad at him, Peyton was at Rachel's, Nathan and Skills were down at the river court. It could only be… Mouth.

_Ding dong. _Lucas thought for a moment whether he really wanted to answer the door, no offence to Mouth but he really wasn't in the mood, he'd rather just lay here wallowing in self-pity for a bit longer.

_Ding dong._ Lucas moaned getting up to answer the door. He could see a figure slowly walking back down the front steps. He hurried to open the door, completely surprised to see...

"Brooke"

Brooke stopped, turning around. _I rang the doorbell three times, three times. How sad am I? _Brooke thought to herself.

"Sorry about that I was…" Lucas tried to think. _I was thinking about you…no that would just make her angry, how about I was thinking of ringing you… no that sounds stupid, how about I was just ringing you.. okay even more pathetic. _Lucas thought to himself.

_Three times, three times!! _Brooke shouted to herself "Look I didn't come to see you, I came to see Karen" Brooke said firmly.

"Is that why you brought your school bag?" Lucas said gesturing over to her bag

Brooke looked down at her bag and back to Lucas, _Shit. _"Well it doesn't have any books in it."

"I'm sure it doesn't" Lucas said completely unconvinced.

"You bet your ass it doesn't because…" Brooke paused and then imitated Lucas saying "We've passed the research stage"

Lucas laughed "Okay, first of all, we have, and secondly I said that because I knew you were trying to avoid being alone with me"

Brooke smiled rolling her eyes "Whatever, are you going to invite me in or are we going to stand out here all day" Brooke smiled placing one hand on her hip.

Lucas smiled, gesturing for her to enter. "So you're not mad at me anymore?" Lucas asked

"Hmmm, that all depends" Brooke said as she walked through into Luke's bedroom

"On what?"

"If you've got any of those multi-coloured post-its and chocolate, lots of chocolate"

Lucas laughed closing front door behind him. He definitely wasn't sad anymore.

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"Okay, I like your plan, we should definitely go with that" Rachel said passing Peyton's plan back to her.

"We haven't even looked at any of yours yet" Peyton said

"Well I like yours better" Rachel replied quickly

"Which is code for you haven't done anything? Are you actually planning on doing any work? On second thought don't answer that" Peyton smirked.

"Despite what you think, I'm not stupid" Rachel said sorting through some of the books

"Right sorry, I forgot that would be Brooke"

Rachel looked up at Peyton shaking her head "No I think the only stupid thing she did was become friends with you"

"That and "non-exclusive" dating, flunking her maths test, moving in with you and…

"Trusting you" Rachel said, quickly finishing off Peyton's sentence

"Look I don't know what Brooke told you but I didn't betray her trust" Peyton said, stacking the books.

"Well Brooke sure thinks you did"

"Whatever" Peyton said shrugging her shoulders

"Just look at it this way, I know Brooke likes her fair share of attention, but you and her were friends, best friends, you always came first with her, all the time"

Peyton scoffed but Rachel continued "Until… you put her second" Peyton looked up at Rachel who shrugged her shoulders and continued looking through the books.

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"Are you going to put some music on or are we going to sit here in silence" Brooke said as she got out her pencil case.

"We could always talk" Lucas said clearing his desk

"Or you could play some music" Brooke repeated

"Okay, but I think I lent my copy of the Spice Girls to Haley" Lucas teased

"Ha ha, you are so funny" Brooke smiled throwing her eraser at him.

"Ouch" Lucas said pretending to be hurt.

Brooke laughed "I am so telling Haley about the Spice Girls comment"

Lucas laughed "Oh great"

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"I wonder what Brooke and Lucas are doing right now?" Rachel said as she got up to play some music.

"Lucas is at home and Brooke is probably off somewhere getting her legs waxed. They're not together" Peyton replied

"Trust me; they're together… studying of course"

"Unlike Brooke…" Peyton began "I trust Lucas, that's why our relationship works"

"Good for you" Rachel said searching through her CD's as Peyton began ruffling through her bag. Rachel continued searching through her CD's, without even turning around to look at Peyton she said "You can use my phone"

"What?" Peyton asked defensively

"Go on, plus it'll save you making up some pathetic excuse like "Can I go to the bathroom""

"I seriously don't know what you're…"

Rachel interrupted "The phones out on the landing, don't worry won't be able to here you 'not' calling Lucas"

Peyton paused for a minute and then got up, walking out into the landing.

Rachel smiled shaking her head. _So predictable._

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"Okay, I officially love this song" Brooke said whilst bubble writing 'French Revolution'

"What?" Lucas asked, trying to talk over the music.

Brooke gestured for Lucas to low the music down a little "I said…" Brooke repeated still shouting as Lucas lowered the volume "I LOVE THIS SONG!" Brooke shouted right as the volume went low.

Both Broke and Lucas burst out laughing.

"I knew you'd like it" Lucas smiled

Brooke shook her head smiling

"How about instead of a mixed tape of apologies I make you an actual mixed tape" Lucas teased reminding Brooke of her comment the other day.

"Okay, I was mad at you when I said that so you can't tease me about it" Brooke smiled "How about we make one together, like now" Brooke suggested, getting excited as she walked over and bounced onto Lucas bed grabbing a pillow.

"Oooo, erm… well" Lucas teased "Are you sure that's not crossing the friends boundary?"

"Mmmm" Brooke said pretending to think "Nope" she smiled shaking her head.

Lucas walked over to the desk "You're sure are you because…" Lucas began smiling "I thought this whole friend's thing was…" Lucas continued imitating Brooke "Exactly what you needed and exactly what you wanted"

"Oh you are SO dead!" Brooke laughed throwing a pillow at Lucas

"I don't think so" Lucas laughed, going over to tickle Brooke.

Brooke fell back onto his bed, laughing hysterically "You better stop that right now, or I'll…"

Lucas laughed continuing to tickle her "Lucas Scott…" Brooke started again, she could barely breath she was laughing so much "If you don't stop… that right… now, I'm going to..." she said laughing.

Lucas stopped pulling her in close "Or you'll what Brooke Davis?" he smiled. Brooke stopped laughing and began breathing in hard.

He could feel her heart racing against his as her chest rose and fell as she tried to catch her breath. Brooke looked up at Lucas, as he stared back into her eyes. He was so close to her she could feel him breathing, God her heart was racing, he was so close… so dangerously close.

Neither of them moving fixed in the moment; both afraid of their true feelings, both afraid of the consequences, both afraid… of making the first move.

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_Well there it is my longest chapter so far. I know I left this chapter up in the air, but tell me what you think, what you're hoping for… reviews are loved!!!_


	16. My very own James Bond

_I thought I'd start the chapter off with a quote by Brooke Davis:_

"_People, who are meant to be together, always find their way in the end"_

_Enjoy…._

**Chapter Sixteen: My very own James Bond**

_Ring, ring. _

Both Brooke and Lucas turned to face the phone.

"I think you should get that" Brooke said, still not able to move.

"Yeah" Lucas said nodding as he got up and walked out into the corridor, over to the phone.

"Hello" Lucas answered.

Brooke sat up on the bed, running her hands through her hair. _Oh my God, oh my god, OH MY GOD!! Just breathe, just breathe. _Brooke just noticed that she had been holding her breath for what felt like forever. _What just nearly happened? What was that? Wait I know what that could have been… but no… I'm glad. Nothing happened, we could have kissed but we didn't, because we…_ Brooke wanted to tell herself that it was because it was wrong, because he was still with Peyton, and that it would make her just as bad as her boyfriend stealing ex-best friend… but something inside told her it wasn't that.

"Wait, slow down one second" Lucas said over the phone.

Brooke got up off the bed and walked into the hall. _Is everything okay?_

"Alright… I'll try now… okay, bye" Lucas said putting down the phone.

"Is everything okay, Luke?" Brooke asked

"It's my mom"

Brooke's heart nearly stopped "Is she alright?" she asked dreading the answer.

"Well that was Clare from the café, she said that my mom hasn't been in all day and isn't responding to her calls. Clare was meant to have finished her shift an hour ago." Lucas said, running his hands through his hair.

"Okay, well lets try and stay calm" Brooke said more to herself than Lucas "Did she tell you where she might be?"

Lucas shook his head.

"Erm…" Brooke muttered trying to think "What about… Dan. Try calling Dan she could be with him"

As unhappy as the thought made Lucas he had to agree that was the most likely explanation "Yeah, you're right" Lucas nodded.

"Okay, so call Dan and then your mom. And I'll go down to the café and sort things out. I'll be back in like ten minutes" Brooke said reaching over to hug Lucas "Don't worry, she's probably with Dan"

Lucas nodded. "Thanks Brooke"

"No problem" She said grabbing her keys. "Call Dan, okay" she called before leaving for the café.

Lucas nodded to himself as he searched for his mobile. _Dan, I'll call Dan. She's bound to be with him. _

Brooke hurried down the footpath and into her car. She knew she had told Lucas that Karen was probably with Dan but at that very moment all she could think was… _Please let Karen be okay, please let her be safe, please let her be as far away as possible from that murdering bastard._

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It had been ten minutes and Brooke returned back right on time.

"Lucas?" she called as she entered the house. "Any luck with Dan or Karen"

"No, I tried like ten times" Lucas said as he appeared from his bedroom. "What am I going to do Brooke? She's not picking up, she could be…"

"Lucas, nothing has happened to her okay. She's a fighter, she couldn't have gone through everything she went through and not be a fighter"

Lucas nodded. He didn't know what he'd do without her right now. "I've called everyone Dan, Deb, Nathan, Haley… I'm running out of ideas here"

_Think Brooke think. If you were a middle-aged, pregnant lady where would you be? _"Why don't we try Dan's house, have you got a key?" Brooke asked

"For emergency's yeah"

"Okay, good, let's go" Brooke said, as Lucas grabbed his car keys, following Brooke out the house.

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Mouth placed his hands on his hips, taking one huge breath. _You'd think after all these months of painting this stuff; I'd have gained some upper body strength._ He looked up at what he'd written:

_I know you killed Keith… soon everyone will._

For some reason the words always seemed more powerful in his head and rather insignificant on the wall. Let's face it, his messages weren't strong enough, if they were Dan would have confessed or at least shown a little anxiety, instead; Mouth would come back a few days later to find his words painted over and have start all over again. He needed something that would scare Dan into confessing. Mouth glanced up again at his words… that definitely wasn't it.

_I like big butts and I can not lie…_

Mouth looked down at his phone, reading his caller ID… Brooke? What did she want?

_You other brothers can't deny…_

Mouth thought about whether he should answer it, considering how their conversations always ended when he was painting words such as "Murder" on Dan's wall he thought it best, he leave it.

_When a girl walks in with an ity bity thing and a round thing in your face you get…_

Mouth cancelled the call.

_ONE NEW VOICEMAIL_

Mouth opened his cell, to listen.

"_Hey Mouth, it's Brooke. Luke and I were just wondering if you might have seen Karen… random I know, but if you have could you please get back to us, it's important. Okay, bye"_

Mouth paused for a moment, wondering what was going on. Why had Brooke rang him, of all people asking about Karen… unless something was up, maybe she was hinting at something she didn't want to ask straight out. As he started to think about it, he noticed that Dan hadn't been in either.

Mouth gathered his things quickly, after hearing Brooke's message he knew something was up. Doing up his rucksack, Mouth headed out the window he came through. As he walked down the back of the house towards his bicycle, he got his cell out his pocket and began dialling Brooke's number.

"Hello" Brooke answered

"Hi Brooke, I got your message. Is everything okay?"

Brooke looked over at Lucas who was driving "Hopefully" she answered "We can't get hold of Karen and we're just wondering if you'd spoken to her recently"

Mouth stopped walking, suddenly it dawned on him "You don't think…?"

"I don't know, I'm just…" Brooke looked over at Lucas again who was now looking back at her. She smiled nervously knowing that she couldn't say what she wanted to say. "I'm just wondering if you've spoken to her"

_She can't talk… she's with Lucas. _Mouth figured. "Where are you guys?"

"We're on our way over to Dan's. Why?"

"I'll meet you guys there" Mouth said

"Mouth by the time you get there on your bicycle it'll be like tomorrow morning… we can just pick you up?"

"No!" Mouth said quickly

Brooke paused for a minute, she recognised the same anxiety in his voice she had heard that night when she rang him from outside the café.

"Sorry, its just I'm already in the area, my mum wanted me to pick some things up for her, plus I don't want you guys wasting time going to my house when I'm not there. I'll see you guys there"

"Okay, bye" Brooke said still a little suspicious.

"Who was that?" Lucas asked

"Mouth, he said he wants to help us and that he'll meet us there"

Brooke smiled at Lucas before turning and looking out onto the road. _Something wasn't right._

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Brooke and Lucas stepped out the car, heading towards Dan's house. As they approached the front door, Lucas got the key from his pocket.

"Wait" Brooke said "Do you think he's got an alarm?"

"This is Dan we're talking about the guy doesn't even trust me, I'm sure he's got an alarm"

"Charming" Brooke muttered "So what are we going to do then?"

"I've broken into Dan's safe before, I'm sure I'll figure it out" Lucas said confidently

"Wow, my very own James Bond" Brooke teased in a seductive voice.

Lucas laughed, shaking his head as he turned the key. They entered slowly; surprised to hear there was no alarm.

"I guess he doesn't have an alarm after all" Lucas said looking around

"Pity, I was looking forward to watching you get all 007"

Lucas smiled "I don't think anyone's in" He peered into the kitchen "Mom!" he called but there was no response "I'll go check upstairs you stay down here"

Brooke nodded as Lucas went upstairs. Brooke slowly walked round into the kitchen, looking round to see Karen's cell phone on the counter, she picked it up, seeing that there were more the ten missed calls, she looked around to see the kettle on… either Dan had just left or…someone was in the house.

Just then the doorbell rang.

Brooke jumped, placing her hand on her heart as she walked over to the front door to answer it. "Hey Mouth, you nearly gave me a heart attack" Brooke said as she opened the door.

"Sorry, are you alright?"

"Yeah… I found Karen's cell phone…" Brooke said, handing Mouth the cell phone "And look…" Brooke said walking Mouth through into the kitchen "The kettle's on, Dan and Karen must have been here earlier or… there was someone else in the house"

Mouth laughed nervously "I think you're getting a little carried away here"

"I'm serious" Brooke said nudging Mouth. "Look!" Brooke pointed to the living room window which was open.

_Crap, I really have to work at this whole breaking and entering thing! _Mouth thought to himself. "Brooke, that doesn't mean anything, Dan might have just left his window open, okay. Maybe we should go now, I mean Karen's obviously not here…"

Brooke ignored him, walking through into the living room coming face to face with the red writing on the wall.

"Oh my god, Mouth, come here!"

"What?" Mouth asked knowing perfectly well what Brooke had seen.

Brooke read it aloud to herself "I know you killed Keith… soon everyone will"

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"So Lucas didn't pick up?" Rachel asked as she typed up some work on her laptop

"Not that it's any of your business, but his cell was busy" Peyton said as she began shuffling through her bag trying to find the cover for one of her CD's.

"Sorry did you just say he was getting busy?" Rachel teased

Peyton picked up one of her CD's and chucked it at Rachel's head, Rachel ducked instinctively leaving the CD to hit the wall and fall straight into the bin.

"Well…" Rachel said "Something we agree on, your music is definitely garbage" Rachel stood up and walked over to her player, ejecting Peyton's CD and throwing it in the trash.

"Hey!" Peyton said walking over the bin "That was an import, don't throw MY stuff away"

"Don't throw your junk at my head" Rachel replied as she began typing again "So what do you think Brooke and Lucas are doing right now…"

"I swear I'll throw this at you again and I won't miss" Peyton warned collecting her CD's.

"Wow, Malibu Barbie's jealous"

"You know, I actually came here to get some work done but all you've done is make sarcastic comments" Peyton said, packing some of her books away.

"And all you've done is try and check up on Lucas every five minutes, so don't make out you were actually doing any work" Rachel replied quickly

"Why don't you get a life of your own instead of traipsing around trying to get involved in other peoples lives" Peyton said loudly.

"And why don't you get a life of your own and stop trying to live Brooke's" Rachel fired back.

"You know I expected this kind of bullshit from Brooke but not you"

"Oh really what the hell did you expect?" Rachel shouted, challenging Peyton.

"I guess I expected you to be a brainless, bitchy, little slut, instead you're a brainless, bitchy, annoying, HUGE slut!" Peyton shouted back.

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"Brooke? Good news" Lucas called as he came down the stairs

"Quick, Lucas can't see this. Come on Brooke let's get out of here" Mouth whispered

Brooke didn't respond instead she stood there; still unable to believe what was in front of her. Mouth shook his head, pulling her into the hallway, to meet Lucas.

"Hey Luke" Mouth said quickly

"Hey Mouth, when did you get here?"

"A few seconds ago" Mouth replied

"Have you heard from Karen" Brooke asked, recovering from the shock of what she had just seen.

"She just rang, she said Dan surprised her by taking her out shopping for loads of baby stuff, she said left her cell phone at…"

Mouth handed Lucas, Karen's cell phone. "Ah, she left it here, that's why we couldn't get through to her and she said she thought she would have been back in time to take over Clare's shift but they got held up so…"

"She's okay" Brooke said with a sigh of relief

"Yeah she is" Lucas smiled looking at Brooke.

Mouth looked between Brooke and Lucas; they were doing that thing again with their eyes, when they looked at each other as if they knew they had so much to say to one another but just couldn't find the words.

Mouth coughed obviously, breaking the gaze between Brooke and Lucas.

"I've got to head back to the café" Lucas said "You know, help out till my mum gets back, do you want a ride home" Lucas asked Brooke and Mouth.

"I can't I've got my bicycle but…" Mouth said looking at Brooke.

"I'll walk with you" Brooke said, before turning to face Lucas.

Lucas nodded, a little disappointed. "Thanks for everything Brooke" he said leaning over to give her a hug.

"No problem" She smiled "I'll call you later"

"Cool" Lucas smiled "And thanks to you to man"

"Sure" Mouth smiled "We'll lock up, you go on ahead"

"Okay" Lucas said handing Mouth the keys "Bye"

"Bye" Both Brooke and Mouth replied.

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As soon as the door shut, Brooke grabbed her bag and demanded they leave too. "This house gives me the creeps, can we go?"

Mouth agreed; it did have an eerie feel to it. Mouth locked the front door as; Brooke wheeled his bicycle to him.

As they walked down the road, Brooke began to skip happily.

"What are you so happy about?" Mouth asked.

"Well… we found Karen and… someone else knows about 'you know what'"

"Brooke I'm not sure…" Mouth began, as Brooke interrupted him.

"Well, I'm sure. I was right all along; someone was in the house Mouth"

"What?" Mouth said, trying to focus on a way to control the situation.

"The kettle, the open window… the paint, it was still wet, I touched it. Don't you see Mouth this is great"

Mouth turned to look at Brooke, confused.

Brooke continued "Well, not great like great, great but don't you get it? We're not the only ones who know. We can finally tell Lucas and Karen and…"

Mouth just watched Brooke as she got excited, if only what she was saying was true. He wanted to tell her, he really did but he couldn't. It wouldn't make things any better, if anything she'd tell him to stop what he was doing. She'd say it was too dangerous, not to mention it was illegal. No, Brooke couldn't find out it was him and she definitely couldn't tell Lucas or Karen.

"Brooke, stop!" Mouth shouted. Brooke stopped, turning to face him. "We can't tell anyone" Mouth continued.

"Not this again Mouth" Brooke said completely frustrated by everything "Why Mouth, tell me why we can't say anything. You saw the writing, someone else knows and soon everyone else will. We'd being helping this person. Something has to end this; we can't keep carrying this secret around"

"Do you mean 'we' can't or 'you' can't keep this secret?" Mouth asked quickly

"Don't go turning this around on me Mouth. Today was just an example of how bad things could get"

"Dan would never hurt Karen" Mouth said completely convinced.

"How can you be so sure about that" Brooke snapped back "The man killed his own brother and all we're doing is walking around with his secret. This person could be what we need to stop Dan"

"Do you think that's the first time, that person's done that?" Mouth asked.

Brooke shrugged her shoulders, "I honestly don't know but…"

"Which means Dan must come home every, what, three times a week and see that and paint over it."

"But…" Brooke began

"He comes home and paints over the writing and doesn't even flinch…"

Brooke slowed down her usual pace, listening intently to Mouth.

"When you see him, does he look scared; does he look nervous, does he even look like he's having a bad day?" Mouth asked.

Brooke shook her head.

Mouth continued "Imagine when we just thought he was carrying around the guilt of murdering his brother and we were shocked how calm he was, now we know that he's carrying around that guilt and the fear that someone else knows. He thrives off it Brooke, it's like an adrenaline rush, the riskier it gets the more he rises to the challenge."

Brooke thought back to that night in the car, when he grabbed her wrist and turned around and told Lucas and Karen a completely different story, how he answered every question immaculately, how he grew calmer, more confident with every question, with every challenge. Brooke looked up at Mouth, she knew he was hiding something but she also knew he wouldn't tell her. If she wanted something to change with Dan she'd have to do it herself, even if that meant lying to Mouth.

"Okay, I won't say anything" she said.

Mouth sighed with relief "It's for the best, until we think of something"

Brooke nodded.

For the rest of their walk, they didn't say anything to each other, they were both tired. Tired of keeping the secret and tired of lying to their friends, to each other and worst of all, to themselves.

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	17. Ooo déjà vu

_Heya everyone, I decided to put up two chapters so enjoy… _

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any of it's characters bla bla bla…

**Chapter Seventeen: Ooo déjà vu**

It had reached third period and it already felt like it should have been the end of the day.

Nathan walked into English class, looking really tired. Lucas yawned, as he tried to stay awake, their teacher hadn't even arrived and he was tired.

"Man, you look like crap" Lucas joked

Nathan sat in the seat next to him "Well, I have a wife who's recovering from a major accident… what's your excuse man"

Lucas nodded sensing Nathan wasn't in the mood for jokes "How is Haley?"

"She's better, she back in school today, doctor says her leg should make a full recovery in six weeks, Haley's pushing for four though"

"She's back in school? That's great news man; you've been really good to her Nate"

Nathan nodded "So you never answered my question… why do you look like crap?"

Lucas laughed. "I was on the phone till like 2am last night talking to Brooke"

"Wait, have I really missed that much school. I'm gone for like what, a week and you break up with Peyton and get back together with Brooke. Can't say I'm surprised though you two were obviously still into each other"

"Whoa wait a minute, we are not back together"

"Okay, whatever if that's your story" Nathan said turning in his chair to face the board.

"Seriously, we're just friends" Lucas said leaning towards Nathan, who had now turned back to face him.

"I swear, what is the matter with you two, the beginning of last year you two were "just friends" when you clearly had feelings for each other, then when you finally faced up to things you did that stupid "non-exclusive dating" thing"

"Okay, that wasn't my idea" Lucas said

"Whatever man, you went along with it, I mean would it have killed you to say 'Brooke I don't want to do this whole non-exclusive dating thing because I'm in love with you and all I do is mope around…" Nathan continued

"I do not mope around" Lucas said defensively

"You did when you guys were doing that whole non-exclusive crap; you were all like 'I can't believe this man...' and 'I don't want to go out with other girl's dude'"

Lucas interrupted "Your point was?"

"My point was" Nathan concluded "You guys would save a hell of a lot of time if you just told each other how you felt, without worrying about the consequences"

"I hear what you're saying man, but none of that matters because I'm with Peyton"

Nathan sighed "Look, Peyton's been through some really bad stuff, no one is denying that and you're a good guy Luke so I know you just want to take care of her but… don't confuse caring for someone with loving someone"

"I…" Lucas began

"You and Peyton, you make sense but love, love doesn't always make sense" Nathan sat back in his seat as Mr. Ward walked in.

Lucas paused for a minute, thinking, taking in what Nathan had just said. _Don't confuse caring for someone with loving someone._

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Brooke sat in the library, flicking through her math textbook whilst looking over at the clock in front of her. _She should be here any minute._ Brooke thought to herself. It felt like months since Haley had been in school and although the library wasn't Brooke's usual hangout she knew Haley had a free third period and would definitely be here. Over the past year Haley had become a best friend to Brooke and although both girls were rather different they both had the same heart.

"Haley!" Brooke said getting up and walking over to her. "Oh my God, I missed you tutor wife" She said pulling Haley in for a hug.

"You saw me yesterday Brooke" Haley smiled as she limped over to the nearest table trying her best to sit down gracefully.

"I know, I know but you're actually here, back at school" Brooke said still really excited.

"Have I missed much?" Haley asked

"Well if you're talking about class then I'm probably… no definitely the wrong person to ask but if you want to know about any gossip then you came to the right place…" Brooke flashed a cheeky grin.

Haley laughed "I've missed you tiger"

Brooke smiled reaching over to give Haley another hug.

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Both Nathan and Lucas sat outside with the rest of the basketball team, they didn't usually all sit together but next Friday was a big game and there was no better time to discuss tactics than at lunch.

As Brooke and Haley walked out of the school building towards Nathan, Lucas and the rest of the team, both linking arms, Lucas got up, walking over to Haley.

"Hales…" he said, hugging Haley. "Your back"

"Yep" Haley smiled

"How's the leg?" Lucas asked

"It's getting better" Haley said before going over to sit next to Nathan.

"Hey Brooke" Lucas smiled

"Hi Luke, what you guys up to?" she asked

"Just talking about next week's game" Lucas said going back over to sit with the guys

"Do you need me to get anything for you?" Nathan asked Haley, stroking her hair.

"Nope, but…" Haley smiled looking over to Brooke

"I think Haley has something for Lucas" Brooke smiled as Haley reached into her bag.

"Here" Haley said handing Lucas the Spice Girls CD "Thanks for lending me your copy Luke"

The rest of the guys on the basketball team including Nathan burst out laughing.

Lucas looked down at the CD and back at the rest of the guys who were in fits of laughter. "No, no, they're just joking" Lucas said, trying to explain

"Whatever dog…you're busted" Skills laughed

"No, you see I said to Brooke that…"

"Give it up Luke" Nathan laughed.

Lucas smiled turning round to face Brooke "Are you going to help me out here?"

Brooke and Haley laughed, shaking their heads. "Hey guys" Brooke said getting the attention of the team "When Haley thanked Lucas for lending her the copy she did mean his copy…" Brooke began.

Lucas nodded "Thank you..."

"Because technically he didn't buy it… he got it free with his Cosmo Girl subscription" Brooke smiled as Haley burst out laughing giving Brooke a high five.

"You are so dead" Lucas said to Brooke, before Brooke turned around and laughed with the rest of the team.

"Oh yeah?" Brooke teased as she slowly backed away

"Oh yeah" Lucas said slowly edging towards her

"I'd like to see you try" Brooke joked as she walked quickly round the table.

Lucas smiled confidently "I'm sure you would" he said before running round the table towards her. Brooke laughed as she ran round the table in the other direction "You're going to have try harder than that" She teased as she continued to run, not looking behind as she went bumping into none other than…

"Brooke! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Peyton screeched, gesturing towards her now wet, Pepsi stained white t-shirt.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry Peyton" Brooke said, reaching for some tissues in her bag and trying to wipe the Pepsi off. "Here let me hel…"

"I think you've done enough!" Peyton shouted

"Come on Peyt, it was an accident" Lucas said walking over to the both of them.

"Yeah right" Peyton said sarcastically

"It was." Brooke said pulling out some wipes from her bag "I have a spare top in my locker if you want to…"

"Count on you to bring a spare top to school…" Peyton began

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Brooke asked sensing an argument

"I think we all know what it means Brooke" Peyton said snidely

"Peyton" Nathan said trying to stop her from going on.

"No, I mean come on, you forget half your textbooks on your best days and yet you remember to bring a spare top to school. No wonder you're flunking" Peyton said spitefully.

Everyone went silent; Brooke could feel everyone looking at her, the same way they did that day in the classroom. Brooke looked Peyton up and down trying to mask the apparent hurt in her eyes.

"Screw you Peyton" Brooke said, grabbing her bag and making her way quickly towards the school building.

Peyton turned to everyone else as they all quickly pretended to look the other way, all except Nathan, Haley and Lucas who remained looking at Peyton, Haley with disappointment, Nathan with confusion and Lucas with frustration.

Peyton looked up at Lucas, his thoughts obvious "Look Luke before you start…"

Lucas didn't even wait for her to finish her sentence instead he just walked off in the same direction as Brooke, into the school building.

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Lucas followed Brooke into the library; he looked around searching the room for her.

There she was sitting at a desk flicking through her maths textbook. Lucas smiled to himself, she clearly wasn't reading it, but taking her anger out on each page. Lucas walked over to her as she forcefully flicked another page.

"Whoa, what did the book do to you?" Lucas joked sitting opposite her.

Brooke just glared back at him, as Lucas put his hands in the air to say as if to say _"Okay, I get it… you're pissed off"_, she clearly wasn't in the moods for jokes.

Brooke flicked another page.

"You better be careful or you could end up with a really nasty paper cut" Lucas said looking around the library trying to play it cool.

Brooke tried to stay angry but Lucas was being so silly it was funny. Brooke laughed, pushing Lucas "Oh you are such an idiot sometimes"

Lucas smiled "Whatever, you know you like it"

Brooke laughed even harder "O…k then"

Lucas laughed "Look, I was thinking… since we have our end of unit maths exam next week, I was thinking…"

"You were thinking of helping me find an excuse to skip it" Brooke interrupted

"No" Lucas said "I was thinking we could study together… you know two brains are better than one…"

Brooke looked up at Lucas; she could tell what he was trying to do and it was so sweet of him, but was spending more time with Lucas what she really needed. I mean, it had been great these past few days, it really felt like they had become friends if you discard there extra friendly encounter on the weekend. Brooke paused and then smiled, no matter how hard she tried to talk herself out of it, the truth was she loved spending time with Lucas especially now when it felt like they were getting to know each other all over again. "Okay" Brooke smiled.

"Okay, that's a date… well not a… you know like…"

Brooke smiled rolling her eyes "I'll come round yours later tonight" Brooke said closing her book and getting up "Oh and now that you've got your copy of the Spice Girls back we can listen to some decent music" Brooke giggled before walking out the library.

Lucas laughed turning around to watch Brooke walk out.

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"Hey bitch" Rachel said as she arrived home

"Hey hoe" Brooke shouted from the living room

"What you doing?" Rachel asked

"I'm in here" Brooke called

Rachel walked though into the living room where Brooke was "Oh my God!" Rachel shouted as she entered the room

"What!" Brooke jumped turning to face Rachel "What's wrong?"

"You're actually… studying"

"Rrrrr" Brooke picked up her pencil case and threw it at Rachel

Rachel caught it, chucking it back at her "Ooo déjà vu" Rachel said walking through into the kitchen

"Déjà vu?" Brooke asked

"Yeah, psycho Peyton tried to knock me out with her CD, whilst working on the assignment from hell"

"Wow so you guys got kinky then?" Brooke teased

"More like bitchy, she called me a brainless… something, something bitch"

"Well she basically called me stupid in front of the whole basketball team" Brooke said turning to face Rachel.

"Ouch… two points to Peyton I guess" Rachel said

"Yeah, after I spilt Pepsi all over her"

"Wow, way to go Brooke!" Rachel laughed

"Accidentally!" Brooke insisted

"Whatever, scores are 2-Peyton and 1-Brooke"

"Wait a minute, you're keeping score and…how come I only have one point" Brooke asked

"It's because Peyton got you before in class with the whole maths results thing"

"Err... Don't remind me"

"You really need to watch out for the PDE" Rachel said walking through into the kitchen and grabbing a drink out of the fridge

"PDE?" Brooke asked

"Public Displays of Embarrassment"

"Ok, that doesn't even make any sense" Brooke laughed

"I think you'll find it does. Seriously, you need to get less of the PDE and more of the PDA" Rachel grinned

Brooke just rolled her eyes.

"So what are you doing anyway?" Rachel asked

"Making revision notes, I'm going over to Lucas's to study for the end of unit math's exam we have next week"

"Would this be the Lucas you spent all of last night talking to, or the Lucas who is going out with your ex-best friend, or the Lucas who you broke up with or… the Lucas you're still in love with?"

"None of those actually, it's the Lucas Scott, brother of Nathan Scott and guy who's helping me revise for maths exam"

Rachel smiled. "Oh that Lucas, you should hook up with his brother, now he's a total hottie"

"Married, Rachel married, ok. Stay away from Nathan" Brooke said seriously "I mean it, Mr Pierson said I really need to get above a C in this exam otherwise I fail the whole unit and won't be able to take part in extra curricula's"

"Don't worry about it Brooke, if you flunk, have to repeat the year and end up hanging out with all juniors, I'll definitely take your place as captain of the cheerleaders" Rachel grinned

"Thanks" Brooke said sarcastically "You know what I going to see Mouth and share my enthusiasm over completing half a units worth of revision notes while you sit here and fantasise about anything except Nathan… and Lucas"

Rachel smiled. "I won't if you won't!"

Brooke rolled her eyes slamming the door behind her.

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	18. What criminal spring cleans?

**Chapter Nineteen: What criminal do you know that spring cleans?**

"Would you like anything else with that sir?" The shop assistant asked politely

"No thank you" Mouth said handing over the cash

_I like big butts and I cannot lie you other brothers can't deny_

"Sorry excuse me for one second" Mouth said to the shop assistant as he reached into his pockets to pick up his cell.

"Hello?" he answered

"_Well hello, mighty Mouth!" Brooke beamed on the other line._

"Hey Brooke, what's up?"

"_Oh nothing much accept I've done like 2 hours of revision, I'm really buzzed about it and I thought I could totally come pick you up and we could go and see a movie or something… you know reward me for all my hard work"_

"I'd love to Brooke but I…"

"_Don't say no Mouth, I'm on a serious high right now so we have to do something fun" Brooke put her hand over her cell phone "I'll take two of those, thanks" she said to the sales assistant before returning to speak to Mouth "Otherwise I am coming down to your house right now…" Brooke began_

"No, don't" Mouth said quickly

"_Geese Mouth, I was only kidding" she said before placing her hand on her cell once again "Do you have that bra in black?" She asked the sales assistant._

"_No sorry we don't" The sales assistant replied_

"_Okay, I'll take the red one, thanks" She said handing her credit card over_

"Are you still there Brooke?" Mouth asked

"_You bet your ass I am, so when am I picking you up?" Brooke spoke into her cell._

"Some of us want to get out of here today!" A guy at the back of the queue shouted at Mouth.

"Sorry" Mouth said gesturing over to the guy at the back.

"That's three cans of red paint sir…" The shop assistant said as he placed them in a bag for Mouth.

"_You're buying paint?" Brooke asked "Are you doing some home improvements?…Ooo, I can come round and help… we could be like Extreme Makeover House Addition"_

"Brooke I…"

"_Move that bus!" Brooke laughed_

"Maybe another time Brooke, I really gotta go" Mouth struggled to say.

"_But Mouth…"_

"Sorry"

"_Okay b…" Before Brooke could finish saying goodbye, Mouth had put the phone down._

"Well bye to you too" Brooke said sarcastically "What am I going to do now?" Brooke asked the sales assistant who looked at her shrugging her shoulders. "My friend Mouth, the guy I was talking to on the phone… he's got some things going on at the moment and I…" Brooke stopped mid-sentence as she looked out the shop window and saw Mouth walk past "Oh my God, that's him" Brooke said more to herself than the sales assistant.

"Here you go, ma'am" the sales assistant said handing Brooke the bras she had just purchased.

"Thank you" Brooke said "Do you think I should talk to him, or maybe I should follow him?" Brooke asked, looking over the sales assistant who was now staring back at her oddly.

"I don't mean follow him, follow him like a stalker kind of thing I mean it more as a friend, whose really nosy and kind of bored…" Brooke began ranting, as the sales assistant just shrugged her shoulders.

"And I'm talking to a complete stranger" Brooke muttered under her breath to herself "Thanks, bye" Brooke said hurrying out the store and into her car. She caught site of Mouth's bicycle heading down the road and despite her better judgement decided to follow him.

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Twenty minutes later Brooke was still following Mouth; only he wasn't heading home.

_Where is he going? _Brooke thought to herself. Brooke had continued following Mouth all the way from the mall. She had of course maintained a two car distance and after a long and painfully slow drive on Brooke's behalf seeing as Mouth was riding a bicycle, they arrived on…

_Dan Scott's road? This is Dan's road,_ _what on earth is Mouth doing here?_

Brooke pulled over as she saw Mouth push the breaks on his bike. Brooke decided to reach for her shades as she watched Mouth get off his bike and wheel it towards the back of Dan's car.

_Maybe he's trying to catch the guy who did the writing on the wall?_

Brooke thought to herself as she leaned forward trying to get a better view. She watched as Mouth peeped through Dan's back window…

_Maybe he knows the guy who does this? _

Mouth lifted the back window and his rucksack… Brooke recognised that rucksack, suddenly she started to remember**…**

_She reached over to grab Mouth's rucksack to sit on. It was open… What the..? She thought to herself as she pulled out a black shirt with red paint on it. What on earth had Mouth been up to this evening? _

She remembered the shirt he was wearing…

"_Here" Brooke said, throwing the shirt at Mouth. "You don't' have to worry, your secret's safe."_

_Mouth looked down at the shirt._

This was the stuff Mouth was talking about…

"_And I've done some stuff" Mouth said avoiding eye contact_

"_What stuff Mouth?"_

"_Just some stuff" Mouth answered quickly_

The reason why Mouth was so jumpy…

"_My God Brooke" Mouth said catching his breath_

"_Mouth… why are you so jumpy?" _

The reason why Mouth was so touchy…

"_We're on our way over to Dan's. Why?"_

"_I'll meet you guys there" Mouth said_

"_We can just pick you up?" Brooke suggested_

"_No!" Mouth said sharply_

The reason why Mouth was so persistent yesterday…

"_Brooke, stop!" Mouth shouted. Brooke stopped, turning to face him. "We can't tell anyone" Mouth continued… "It's for the best, until we think of something"_

The reason why he blew of Brooke's theory…

"_There was someone else in the house today Mouth"_

_Mouth laughed nervously "I think you're getting a little carried away here"_

The reason why they couldn't pick Mouth up yesterday…

"_Sorry, its just I'm already in the area, my mum wanted me to pick some things up for her" Mouth continued nervously_

The reason why he was already in the area yesterday…

"_Mouth, you said you were doing something, what was it?"_

"_Brooke, that's not important right now" Mouth snapped back_

Mouth was the one…

"_Do you think that's the first time, that person's done that?" Mouth asked._

Mouth was breaking into Dan's house all these times…

"_Which means Dan must comes home every, what, three times a week and see that and paint over it." Mouth continued._

All this time it was Mouth…

"_I've done some stuff" Mouth said avoiding eye contact_

"_What stuff Mouth?"_

"_Just some stuff" Mouth answered_

It was Mouth!!

It all started to make sense now, everything. Why he was jumpy, why he was always busy and snappy over the phone. The 'stuff' Mouth kept talking about, the 'stuff' he couldn't tell anyone… this was the stuff, this was it! Mouth was the one who painted those words on the wall, Mouth was the one who left the window open, and Mouth was the one who was here the other day.

Brooke's heart began to race. _What have you done Mouth… what have you done! _Brooke thought back to that day in the car with Dan. How he had grabbed her wrist, how violent he had gotten when Brooke made empty accusations. The rage in his eyes as she told him he was to blame, Brooke hadn't done anything to him and yet he looked at her with such hate, such anger…What on earth would he do to Mouth when he found out?

"Oh my God, Mouth" Brooke whispered as she quickly grabbed her things and scrambled out the car and across the road. She didn't have to time to think about how it looked or who could have seen her going into Dan's house… all she could think about was Mouth and getting him out of there. She walked quickly round the back of Dan's house, looking around to see if any of his neighbours where watching.

She had to get Mouth out of there; she had to stop him from making a huge mistake.

Brooke walked up to the open window; it was a lot higher than she'd thought it was. Reaching her arms up above the hedges she lift herself high enough to scramble up onto the hedge, boosting herself over through the window. "Eww" she said wiping her skirt, realising that she wasn't exactly in the best clothes for breaking and entering. She peered into the living room but saw no sign of Mouth, instead she heard the kettle coming from the kitchen.

For second Brooke wondered whether it could be Dan but continued on, through into the kitchen. "Mouth" she whispered "Hello, Mouth?"

Mouth jumped, turning around and dropping his coffee to the floor. "Oh my God, Brooke?" he fumbled reaching for a tea-towel as he frantically tried to mop up the coffee he'd split. He was breathing so hard, she could hear it clearly through the silence in the house.

Brooke just watched him. The person who stood in front of her didn't look anything like her friend Mouth. He looked tired, scared and guilty; he looked so guilty. She couldn't hide the disappointment in her eyes. This wasn't the Mouth she knew and loved, and in that moment for the first time Brooke hated him for dragging her into all of this, she hated him for forcing her to keep it a secret and she hated him for what he had become. As she had walked up to the house she had thought of so many things to say, so many questions, accusations but now she was here all she wanted to do was leave and pretend she never saw him, pretend she never knew about him or anything. Brooke gave Mouth one last look and turned on her heels.

Mouth's head shot up "Brooke wait" Mouth whispered following after her.

Brooke continued to walk, through into the living room

"Please Brooke" Mouth continued "Don't go"

Brooke didn't even turn around

"Brooke, if you ever were my friend, you'd stay and help me out or at least hear me out" Mouth said.

Brooke stopped. She didn't know why, but she did. She didn't want to, but she did. Everything inside her told her to climb back out that window and not look back but she couldn't _"If you ever where my friend..." _Mouth's words echoed in her head. How could he say that to her after everything she had done for him? After keeping his secret for so long; how could he question her? Brooke took a deep breath and turned around to face Mouth.

"Please Brooke" He sounded so tired, as if he was ready to give up.

There was desperation in his face which she hadn't seen earlier, a slight sadness. Brooke titled her head back praying she wouldn't regret this "I'll stay and help you out but I'm not hearing anything you have to say… I've heard enough of your lies" Brooke said walking over to him. "What do you need me to do?"

Mouth smiled gratefully "I could use a hand with the paint…"

"Oh no" Brooke said "I'm not touching that, just because I offered to help does mean I agree with what you're doing… I'll go clean up the coffee you dropped" Brooke said putting her bags down and walking through into the kitchen again.

Mouth nodded to himself as he watched her disappear into the kitchen before laying down some sheets to begin painting.

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"Lucas, could you get the door please" Karen called from the kitchen

"Sure mom," Lucas said getting up from his laptop. He glanced down at his watch, _Brooke's early? _He thought to himself as he walked over to answer the door.

Lucas opened the door to see Peyton standing there "Hey, Peyton… is everything alright?"

"Yeah" she said letting herself in "Does there need to be something wrong for me to come and visit my boyfriend?"

"No of course not" Lucas said following her into his bedroom.

"So, what were you doing?" Peyton asked as she went over to sit on Lucas's bed.

"Just making a mix" Lucas said returning to his laptop.

"Oh really?" Peyton said walking over to peer at the mix "Is it for anyone I know?"

Lucas looked up at Peyton, he momentarily considered lying knowing that Peyton wouldn't pleased with the answer but realised he had to start taking responsibility for his actions "It's for Brooke" Lucas said.

Peyton rolled her eyes, moving back to sit on Lucas's bed "Any particle reason why you're doing that or do you just enjoying pissing me off?"

"Peyton" Lucas said, getting up from this desk and walking over to sitting next to her on his bed. "Brooke and I, we're trying to be friends and that means a lot to me"

"Well…" Peyton began, looking down at her shoes "What would mean a lot to me Lucas, is if you stopped hanging out with her".

Lucas turned to look at Peyton in complete confusion "What?"

"It's pretty simple Lucas. This yo-yoing between Brooke and I has got to stop, we've tried to make it work but lets face it you can't be friends with one of us and date the other"

Lucas stood up "You can't ask me to stop seeing Brooke"

"I can Lucas and I believe I just did" Peyton snapped back "Don't you ever just want to have a girlfriend without any of the added drama"

"That's not fair" Lucas said defensively

"No Lucas" Peyton said getting up "What's not fair is what you're doing right now, what you always do. You and me, you and Brooke… it's got to stop. I'm not saying this for myself Lucas; I'm saying this for Brooke. Do you think it's fair to string her along the way you're doing?"

"I'm not stringing her along Peyton" Lucas answered annoyed at her suggestion.

"Oh really? Well what's with the mix you're making…?"

"Peyton I'm jus…"

"Or talking until late on the phone to her?" Peyton continued

"Wait, how do you..?"

"People talk Lucas; Brooke's not the only one with a big mouth" Peyton laughed bitterly.

"God, would you stop that!" Lucas said angrily

"Stop what?" Peyton shrugged her shoulders, knowing exactly what Lucas meant.

"Talking about Brooke that way, as if you hardly even know her, you used to be best friends Peyton… what happened?"

"You happened" Peyton replied calmly "You happened, Lucas"

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"You do know how messed up this is, not to mention wrong and illegal" Brooke said as she sat watching Mouth finish what he was writing.

Mouth didn't reply, instead he climbed off the chair he was using and began putting his things away.

"You even put sheets down Mouth… sheets! What criminal do you know that spring cleans a house he's just burgled?" Brooke laughed dryly

"I'm not a criminal Brooke" Mouth said turning to look at her briefly

"Oh yeah, what else would you call yourself?" Brooke said bitterly. She couldn't see Mouth's face through the darkness but she could tell what she said hurt him.

"I'm sorry Brooke, really I am"

"Let's just go Mouth okay, this house gives me the creeps" She said getting up from where she sat, walking over to the window.

"Here Brooke, will you carry this?" Mouth asked passing her three cans of paints.

Brooke frowned, gesturing to the bags she'd brought.

"You brought three bags of shopping with you?" Mouth asked

"It's not like I did it on purpose. As soon I realised what you were doing I just grabbed my stuff and got of the car. Excuse me for just wanting to come stop you from making a huge mistake" Brooke said trying to hold her bags and the paint.

Mouth smiled quietly to himself. Brooke may have been mad at him right now but she still cared, she always did.

"Have you got everything Mouth?" Brooke asked "You haven't forgotten anything?" She said looking around "The kettle what about the kettle, did you leave that on again?"

Mouth shrugged his shoulders.

Brooke rolled her eyes "I'll go check" She said dropping everything to the floor, before running through into the kitchen.

There she saw the kettle left on and Mouth's cell phone on the counter next to it. Brooke took a huge breath, grateful she decided to come back and check. She took a quick look around the kitchen, checking once again before grabbing Mouth's cell and running back into the living room.

"Come on Brooke it's getting late, Dan could be getting back soon"

"Excuse me, if it weren't for me you would have forgotten your cell phone in the kitchen" She said handing Mouth his cell.

"Oh my God, thanks Bro…"

"Yeah, yeah" She smiled grabbing her things and the paint off the floor "Let's get out of here"

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"You're blaming me, for what happened between you and Brooke?" Lucas asked, running his hands through his hair trying to pin-point when the conversation took a complete turn.

Peyton just shrugged her shoulders sitting back on the bed. "I don't know" Peyton said playing with her fingers "Sometimes, I find myself wondering…" She paused, quickly looking up at Lucas then back down at her hands "Why you had to go out with her?"

Lucas looked up confused by the question.

"When this all started, at the beginning… you were into me but you went out with her, right?"

Lucas put his head down in shame; he knew that was wrong, he knew that.

"I just wonder why you couldn't wait for me, you know like you waited for Brooke when you came back from Charlotte and she just wanted to be friends; all that time you waited for her. Or when she went to California for the summer, you waited for her then" Peyton forced out a weak laugh "Even when she came back and she gave you all that non-exclusive crap you waited for her Luke… but you didn't wait for me"

"Peyton, I…" Lucas shook his head, not knowing what to say. He never really thought about that until now.

"If you had just waited for me, we wouldn't be in this mess. We could have been together but instead we have to tiptoe around Brooke just in case her feelings are hurt, we did the same thing when you two were dating. Brooke's always been in our way, always, and now you finally have a chance to stop that"

Lucas looked up at Peyton, wondering if she could actually hear the things she was saying about her ex-best friend. The Peyton he had had feelings for when he first joined the Ravens had slowly vanished. She had changed, he had changed… Brooke had changed only with Brooke; it was a change that made him questions how he could ever have been so stupid to have cheated on her and ruined what they had in the first place. Back then, he'd never given himself a chance to see Brooke, see the real Brooke and now that he had; he found himself not being able to imagine what his life would be like without her. It had taken him a while after they broke up to realise he couldn't have her. He'd tried things to get her back but it didn't work, until he realised that maybe she didn't want him back. That maybe she didn't want a quick fix "I'm sorry and I love you"… that there was something else, something that he just wasn't getting and until he understood it, there was no chance of them getting back together.

Peyton on the other hand was always around, more and more as he tried to get Brooke back. And she… she always needed him; to rescue her, to be there for her, to make her feel safe. It felt good being needed, he missed that with Brooke. It never felt like she needed him, she was so strong, so independent. After Keith died, she had been the one that was there for him, he'd needed her. That's why part of him was happy he found out Brooke might be pregnant, sure he was angry at her for not telling him, for once again trying to be so strong and do everything on her own but he was happy. Happy at the chance to be there for her, to be the guy she could rely on, the guy that would never let her down. He knew he'd lost that the day he cheated with Peyton, but he just wanted the chance to prove to her that she could rely on him, that she could trust him, that he was the guy for her.

"Peyton, I don't want to hurt you but I can't stop seeing Brooke, I want her in my life. I care about her, I really do and if that makes me a bad boyfriend…" Lucas said

Peyton nodded "It's okay" she said fearing the end of his sentence "It's okay" she repeated getting up and walking over to Lucas "I'll see you tomorrow" She said giving him a quick peck on the lips before walking out.

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"I'm telling you, I'm not making it out of here in one piece" Brooke whispered down to Mouth who stood outside reaching his hands out to catch her.

"I'll catch you" Mouth said extending his arms out even further.

"Yeah right Mouth, with all this stuff I'm carry" she whispered.

"Well then throw it down" Mouth said as Brooke proceeded to do so.

"This window did not look this high when I came threw it the first time" she moaned.

"That's because you weren't looking down onto the ground thinking you could fall and seriously hurt yourself" Mouth rambled with out thinking.

Brooke looked down at him worried "Thanks a lot for that Mouth, now I'm never coming down"

"No, no, I was just… I was just… oh my God… look! There's a huge spider like right next to you!" Mouth pointed

"What? Oh my God where?" Brooke screeched, flicking her hair frantically "Where Mouth? Where?"

"It's over there" Mouth pointed persistently

"Ahhh" Brooke shrieked, jumping down onto the hedges then flat onto Mouth.

"Ahhh" Mouth cried in pain "You could have warned me you were going to jump" Mouth wailed in pain "You elbowed me in the stomach"

"Sorry, but just get it off me, get it off me!" Brooke continued to shrieking, fluffing herself.

"Get what off you?" Mouth winced in pain

"The spider Mouth, where is it?"

"I was only saying that to get you to jump, there was no spider"

Brooke paused, glaring at Mouth "I am going to kill you" she laughed hitting him playfully

Mouth giggled through the pain "Ahhh, injured over here remember"

"Oh yeah sorry" Brooke said trying not to laugh, but it was no use Mouth just looked so funny with his 'I'm in pain' look.

"Here" she laughed getting up and reaching her hand out to help him up "We've probably woken everybody up" she tried to whisper, whilst picking up everything.

Mouth got up walking towards the front of the house, to his bicycle. "Brooke hurry up already"

Brooke just stood there looking at the things on the grass.

"Brooke?"

Brooke turned to face him "Mouth… didn't I have three bags with me?" she asked calmly trying not worry herself.

"I don't know; I must have put it in with my stuff... now can we go please, Dan could be back any second and unlike you I can't speed off on my bicycle. Especially with all this stuff"

"I can take some if for you if you want?" Brooke offered looking down at the things one more time, _she could have sworn she had three bags with her, _hesitating momentarily before picking everything up and continuing to follow Mouth towards the front of the house.

"Awh thanks Brooke" He said as they walked over to her boot, placing some cans in her boot. "So I guess I'll see you tomorrow" Mouth said reaching out for a hug.

"Yeah, bye" Brooke smiled quickly before pulling Mouth into a hug. "Cycle home safely" she waved before getting in her car.

"Thanks Brooke" Mouth whispered as he put his rucksack on and got onto his bicycle. "Thanks for everything"

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_Well that's it for now… go on click review now and tell me what you think!! Did you like both chapters?? Comments are love, lol!_


	19. Just pee ALL over him!

_Enjoy………_

**Chapter Nineteen: Just pee ALL over him!**

Today was Thursday. It had been 48 hours since Brooke and Mouth had snuck into Dan's house. For some reason, as Brooke had driven home from Dan's house that day and had a shower, watched some TV and eventually gone to sleep she hadn't really thought about what it was they had actually done. She didn't feel a surge of overwhelming guilt or fear; she had managed to avoid thinking about any of the consequences, as reality hadn't really sunk in yet until, the next morning…

As soon as Brooke opened her eyes… it hit her; anxiety, questions, doubts and plenty of guilt. Her mind kept circling around one detail, one specific aspect, and one specific moment of the evening. She had to talk to Mouth; it was driving her crazy keeping it all in. However when Brooke got to school that day, Mouth wasn't in.

After a few moments of panic and frustration, Brooke began to see Mouth's absence as a slight blessing in disguise. Mouth wasn't in; meaning she could act normally and not feel guilty about it, well not as guilty as she would have felt if Mouth was there, the both of them knowing what they had done. But that period of slight enlightenment didn't last when she had to go round to Lucas's that evening to study. Sure, she loved hanging out with Lucas but… the knowing that Dan could have walked in any minute was enough to keep her on edge for the whole evening.

Today however, was Thursday, a new day filled with a new challenge. Brooke sighed as she walked over to the girl's locker room. "Hurry up Rachel, I'd like to get to class sometime today" she said leaning against the wall.

The girls had just had early cheerleading practice and nearly everyone had left to go to lessons except for the few very slow people; Rachel, Haley, Peyton and Theresa.

"Rachel seriously, could you be going any slower?" Brooke moaned

"Erm, I don't hear you telling Miss. Road Kill over here to move any faster" Rachel said gesturing over to Haley.

Haley rolled her eyes, laughing bitterly at the comment.

Brooke shook her head in disbelief "Haley's recovering from…"

Rachel didn't let her finish, instead she decided to continue "From a major accident… blah, blah. What happened Hales?" Rachel turned to face Haley "They were all out of Chris Keller's to take you on tour so you had to settle for getting knocked over by car to get some attention"

"You know what…" Haley began getting up angrily

"Whoa, guys! Stop!" Brooke shouted, both Rachel and Haley looked at her "Sorry, I've just got a bit of a headache" She apologised, completely lying about the real reason for her touchiness.

"Just stay the hell away from Nathan" Haley said sitting back down.

"Trust me, it's not like…" Rachel began as Brooke snapped, interrupting her.

"Rachel, please just… hurry up okay" She said walking over to sit down.

"Okay don't get mad at me just because I actually take pride in my appearance, not all of us can work the whole "I look like crap because I want to" Rachel teased.

Brooke rolled her eyes only to hear Peyton laugh dryly at the joke. Brooke decided to ignore it and carry on talking to Haley "So… Tutorwife, are you going this party tonight?"

"I'm going" Rachel added

"Of course you're going" Haley smirked before turning to face Brooke "No, I'm not going to go" she smiled sadly.

Brooke returned her smile "Well I'm not going either, I need to get my wisdom sleep for my maths exam tomorrow"

"Oh yeah, how is that been going?" Haley asked scooting over, to sit closer to Brooke.

"Good, I've been doing quite a bit of revision"

"A bit…" Rachel said, turning to face Brooke and Haley "She's been round Lucas's like every night. If you guys have just been doing… "a bit" of revision then I can only imagine what you've been doing a lot of" Rachel smirked as Peyton slammed her locker shut. "Oh no was it something I said?"

Haley glanced between Rachel and Peyton, who were both glaring at each other. "Speaking of Lucas…" Haley began trying to lighten the mood "I don't think he's going either"

"Yeah he told me that too" Brooke smiled

"Oh no" Theresa moaned, causing all girls to look at her "What sort of party is it going to be, your not going Bee so I'm sure Bevin isn't going and now Lucas isn't going? Tell me that Nathan's going?" Theresa asked Haley.

"Yeah" Rachel smiled "Tell her Nathan's going?"

Haley squinted her eyes as she tried to control her urge to slap Rachel right across the face.

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Brooke had spent most of her break time disappointing all the cheerleaders who kept coming up to her saying _"You totally have to come"_._ "It's the biggest party of the year" _and _"It won't be fun without you". _Every party was the biggest party of the year and she always had to go. For once she was going to be responsible and not go to a party the night before her exam.

Now and then, in the midst of all the questions, bribes and disappointed faces; Brooke would glance over at Lucas and catch him going through the same thing. She could tell all the guys on the basketball team wanted him to go but he was saying no too.

Usually that wouldn't have any effect on her, seeing as Lucas wasn't a wild party goer like herself but she knew the real reason why he wasn't going and smiled to herself remembering what happened last night.

"_I was right… again!" Brooke smiled sticking out her tongue at Lucas, before doing a little happy dance._

_Lucas titled his head back laughing._

"_Are you laughing at me Mr. I'm The Not So Proud Owner of One Very Girlie Spice Girls CD" Brooke teased_

"_My God, am I ever going to live that down"_

"_Mmmm, let me think about that… no!" She laughed grabbing some chocolate. There was silence for a minute before Brooke spoke… "Thanks Luke, for doing this"_

"_Doing what?" _

"_Studying with me" She smiled_

"_Well I kinda have to take the test too" He smiled_

"_Yeah, I know that" She laughed shaking her head "But… thanks" _

_Lucas nodded a smile crossing his lips "Anything for you Brooke" _

_Brooke looked up at Lucas…_

_Ring, ring._

_Brooke looked down at her phone to see it was Bevin calling._

"_Hey Bev, can I call you back?...When is it?... Erm… I don't know. I'll talk to you tomorrow… okay… bye" _

"_Sorry about that" Brooke smiled "She was asking about some party"_

"_Oh, the party" Lucas said_

"_What party?" Brooke asked_

""_The" party, Tim keeps going on about it"_

"_Wow, this is like a first time experience… being the last to know about a party" Brooke faked complete shock._

_Lucas laughed "Its tomorrow night… Are you going to go?"_

"_Are you?" Brooke asked trying to sound as casual as possible_

"_I don't know" Lucas said shrugging his shoulder. _

"_Well how about this for a first… I'm not going. I figure the maths exam is the next day and I should get my wisdom sleep"_

_Lucas smiled "Well seeing as you're being responsible, I guess I have to, to"_

"_I guess you do" Brooke couldn't help but smile, she didn't know why but she just couldn't help but smile._

"_So if you're not going…" Lucas began_

"_And you're not going.." Brooke began_

"_And everyone else is going then that either makes us…" Lucas continued_

"_The two saddest people in the whole of Tree Hill…" Brooke continued_

"_Or?" Lucas asked_

_Brooke smiled leaning forward "Or… the two saddest people in the whole of Tree Hill."_

_Lucas laughed followed by Brooke._

"_Okay then" He smiled_

"_Okay then" Brooke smiled_

"Brooke, Brooke!" Rachel called, breaking Brooke's thoughts.

Brooke turned around quickly "Hey, sorry what's up?"

"Nothing, Mouth's looking for you?"

_Thank goodness, he's in school! _"Oh really, where is he?" Brooke asked

"He was still in class when I saw him"

"Okay, thanks Rach" Brooke said, grabbing her bag and walking back in the direction Rachel just came.

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"Hi Mouth" Brooke sighed, looking both ways before closing the door of the classroom "Where have you been?"

"Nowhere, I just had a college open day yesterday" Mouth smiled looking up from where he was seated at a desk.

"Oh yeah, I remember you saying something about that" Brooke smiled awkwardly. "So… you were looking for me?"

"Yeah I was, Brooke… thank you so much for… 'you know what', I'm really sorry I put you through that and…"

"Mouth, I get all of that, you're sorry, you're grateful… good, good, I'm glad but… just get to the point already, I've been panicking for the last two days" Brooke said walking towards him.

"I guess my point was, if you could not tell anyone about it" Mouth asked, cautiously.

"Mouth…"

"Look, I know it's a lot to ask and you could get into a lot of trouble Brooke, but please think of Keith and…" Mouth began to ramble on and on, not noticing Brooke in the corner.

"Oh my God" she whispered to herself "Oh my God"

"What? Brooke? What's wrong?" Mouth asked completely confused

"This is why you wanted to see me…" Brooke began pacing up and down again

"Well yeah, I just thought…"

"My bra Mouth! Where's my bra!"

"What?"

"I had three bags with me Mouth, three! I only took home two bags; you said that I put my stuff in with your stuff Mouth so… where is it?"

"I said you_ might_ have put your stuff in with mine…" Mouth began

"Might… might have?" Brooke repeated

"How do you know you had…" Mouth tried to ask

"Firstly, I remember and secondly, I have the receipt"

"Maybe you left it at the store" Mouth tried to find an explanation without panicking

"No, no I didn't because I remember I wanted it in black and they only had it in red, and the nice sales assistant Kara said I could get away with red so I took it anyway thinking, no… knowing I'd get home look at it again and return it, despite the cute sales assistant lady who was kinda flirting with me only… when I went home it wasn't there, the bag I was carrying it in, wasn't there"

Mouth looked at Brooke, fear in both their eyes. Mouth looked away taking a deep breath "This is ridiculous" He said getting up "Let's think about this rationally… if anything… it works in our favour"

"What?" Brooke asked annoyed and confused "How?"

"Dan will find the bra and think it's a joke, that the guy who is doing this is trying to take the piss. He won't think it's you doing this, it'll just piss him off that the guy thinks he can rub it in Dan's face" Mouth said with such hope in his voice

Brooke just looked at Mouth. That had to be the world's crappiest explanation ever. It didn't make any sense… it was sweet of Mouth to try but seriously… "What a load of crap Mouth, absolute crap. You think he'll see the bra and say "Some-one's making fun of me" This is Dan Scott we're talking about; he'll probably send it off to some lab to get finger prints or something"

"Brooke…" Mouth smiled "Maybe it's a good thing, this could scare him, you know, mess with his mind"

Brooke looked up at Mouth, thinking back to that night in the car "Trust me, you do not want to push Dan, trust me you don't"

Mouth paused allowing Brooke's words to echo in his head, there was something in Brooke's voice that suggested there was more to what she was letting on but he shook it off "How could he trace it back to you?"

Brooke paused for a minute, sure she couldn't think of a way but she didn't have the mind of a murder that had killed his brother and gotten away with lying to everyone about it. Brooke shook her head "I don't know Mouth but this is Dan we're talking about"

"Brooke, don't overreact…"

"Overreact? So it's okay for you to flip out about your stupid shirt but I can't get scared about my bra…"

"Brooke…" The bell rang for end of lunch break and the beginning of the next lesson.

"No! Just leave me alone Mouth!" Brooke shouted

Just then the rest of their class flooded in. Brooke really wished she didn't have to stay, the last thing she wanted to do is be around people, not when she felt so on edge. Their teacher hadn't arrived yet so most of the cheerleaders came over to try and persuade Brooke to go to the party again.

Lucas walked in, smiling over at Brooke as he sat at the desk next to her "Hi"

"Hi" She said trying to smile back, trying to block out her conversation with Mouth.

"Brooke, you have to have changed your mind" Bevin moaned

"What you mean between now and the last time you asked me which was… what five minutes ago"

"Yeah" Bevin replied, missing Brooke's sarcasm.

Peyton walked into class. _Great, that's all I need. _Brooke caught Peyton's eye, expecting an evil glare in return but instead she was smiling, not a genuine smile but he it beat her "I hope you die" stare.

Peyton walked past through the cheerleaders, causing them to separate and look over at Peyton as she stood in front of Brooke and Lucas's desk. She turned ever so slightly to face Lucas, however not loosing sight of Brooke.

"Hey Lucas" Peyton said

"Peyton… hi?" Lucas sounded surprised.

_He sounds surprised, have they not been talking for a while, were they having an argument? _Brooke thought to herself.

"I was just thinking we should go to this party tonight" Peyton said, glancing over at Brooke a few times. _That petty, little… I get what she's doing. _Brooke thought to herself.

"I wasn't going to go" Lucas replied

"Well, now that you know I'm going why don't we go?" Peyton asked. Brooke just rolled her eyes.

"Erm… how about we do something else, some other time… it's just that I have huge maths exam tomorrow and…"

"Luke…" Peyton said walking over and leaning down by his desk, reaching up to fiddle with his collar; all the time not forgetting to glance over at Brooke._ Oh why don't you just pee ALL over him! Could she be trying any harder to mark her territory? _Brooke screamed to herself.

"I need you there with me…" Peyton said looking up at Lucas

"Peyton, I…" Lucas said attempting to loosen Peyton's grip around his collar

"Luke…" Peyton continued "It'll be first time since I'm going to go out since… Derek and…I need you there with me"

There it was again; Peyton needed him. To Lucas she was there being vulnerable and reaching out to him for help, to Brooke she was there being manipulative and pushing exactly the right buttons.

Lucas looked between Brooke and Peyton. Peyton didn't have to say anymore, she knew, Brooke knew and on some level Lucas knew it too that she had pushed the right buttons. Her incessant need to be rescued was really starting to wear thin with Brooke, with Nathan, even with Haley but not Lucas "Peyton I…" Lucas stuttered looking once again between Brooke and Peyton.

Brooke looked at the scene in front of her. As if she wasn't having a crappy enough day, now she had the pleasure of watching Peyton all over Lucas like a bad rash. And Lucas, he still couldn't be honest, with either one of them; he still couldn't just take that step away from Peyton. She couldn't take it anymore…

"Hey Bev…" Brooke called getting the attention of nearly everyone in the room "… I'll go to the stupid party"

"Yeah, that's my Brooke" Theresa said as the girls cheered.

Brooke didn't need to look at Lucas to know the expression on his face.

"What about your test tomorrow?" Bevin asked.

"Well, I just decided, I'm done trying" Brooke said bitterly, before glancing over at Lucas "I'm done"

With that Brooke got up and walked out of class. So what, she missed her lesson, all she knew is that she couldn't stand being in the same room as him any longer.

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Brooke entered Theresa's house with Rachel, both arm in arm. Both dressed to impress, Brooke in a mini black dress and Rachel in red, both girls looked amazing and they knew it. As they walked through the house, nearly every pair of eyes was on them. Rachel was enjoying every minute of it whereas Brooke on the other hand just wanted to find a corner where she could disappear.

As they approached the drinks table Bevin and Theresa staggered over to them.

"Hey girlie's" Bevin beamed

"Nice to see you started the party with us" Rachel said looking round the dance floor trying to pick a guy to get a drink, despite the fact that she was right by the drinks table.

"Hey Bee" Theresa smiled

"Hey" Brooke replied miserably, whilst scoping the room for Lucas "So, is everyone here?"

"I guess so" Theresa replied, pouring herself another drink.

"No, I mean…" Brooke began as Rachel interrupted.

"What she means is, where's Lucas?" Rachel smiled

Brooke glared at Rachel "That's not what I…"

"I haven't seen him, mind you after how he and Peyton were acting in class today, my vote would go with them being upstairs… if you know what I mean" Theresa slurred

"Yeah I do" Brooke said bitterly "Someone pass me a drink"

Brooke didn't even bother checking what was it in; she just took one full swig.

"Hey has anyone noticed how fine Dean is looking recently?" Rachel smiled to herself as all the girls apart from Brooke turned to look at him

"Oh my God, he is so hot" Bevin stared dreamily

"I here he's a total player though" Theresa whispered

"Well he can play me anytime" Rachel smirked

Brooke just rolled her eyes with disgust "Pass me another" she gestured to Bev taking another full swig "Keep them coming Bev…"

"Whoa" Rachel laughed "Slow down, the drinks aren't going anywhere"

Brooke just rolled her eyes taking another drink "I can take care of myself thanks"

"Look, I thought you were the one who broke up with Lucas…" Rachel began

"Hey ladies" Dean grinned as he approached all four girls.

"Hey Dean" Bevin, Theresa and Rachel smiled as Brooke just reached out for another drink.

"Hey Brooke" Dean smirked, moving closer to her.

Brooke didn't even turn around instead her eyes were focused on Peyton who approached the table.

"Can I have two drinks please" Peyton asked Dean, who quickly passed her some drinks.

"Hey Lucas" Peyton called across the room to Lucas who had just entered "I knew you'd come through for me" She said pacing over to him.

Brooke just laughed dryly to herself, turning in the other direction so as to avoid watching Peyton all over Lucas for the second time today.

"So Brooke…" Dean tried again whilst Brooke searched for another drink.

"Do you want to dance?" Dean asked

Brooke glanced over at Peyton and Lucas by the door. _God, she didn't even let him get into the house before pouncing all over him. _Brooke thought to herself as she caught Lucas's eye. He looked sorry but that's all he ever was… sorry. Brooke took one last swig of her drink, turning to face Dean who obviously hadn't read any of her "Piss off" signals. "What you waiting for?" Brooke said, completely uninterested.

Dean smiled taking a swig of his drink and following Brooke onto the dance floor.

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It had been twenty minutes and Brooke and Dean had been dancing non-stop. Lucas took another sip of his drink as he watched Brooke grinding up against Dean, he knew he had no right to be jealous but that didn't change how much he wanted to smash Dean's face in.

On the other side of the dance floor Peyton stood watching Lucas as he glared jealously at Brooke and Dean.

"Hey" Rachel said walking over to her

"What do you want?" Peyton snapped

"Isn't it funny… there's like a love circle going on here" Rachel smiled turning to face Peyton "I like Dean, Dean likes Brooke, Brooke likes Lucas and Lucas… wait he likes Brooke to so I guess it more of a line kinda thing"

"You're drunk Rachel" Peyton said ignoring her comment

"And your boyfriend standing there looking awfully jealous at your ex-best friends"

As the song ended, Brooke staggered over to the drinks table, completely ignoring Lucas as she searched for a drink.

"Brooke, when you left…" Lucas tried to explain

"Do you have a drink for me?" Brooke asked spinning around abruptly to face Lucas

Lucas looked confused

"I didn't think so, because right now that's all I want from you not any of your long excuses or apologies, just a drink"

"Brooke…" Lucas began

"No, I get it, Peyton's your girlfriend and even if you've said one thing to me you can easily say another thing to her" Brooke slurred, even though she was drunk and trying her best to be strong Lucas could see past all of that, he could see she was hurt, and it killed him, he hated how he had the ability to do that to her, to make her want to drink herself into a oblivion.

"It's not like that…" Lucas tried again.

On the other side of the room, Peyton had gotten sick of just watching Brooke and Lucas argue, she gave her cup to Rachel and began to make her way across the room to the drinks table where Lucas and Brooke stood.

"Lucas, just leave me alone" Brooke said grabbing a drink and heading out onto the dance floor

"Brooke, wait…" Lucas pleaded as he grabbed her right arm

Lucas touching her was enough to make her melt inside but not today, not when all she could think about was him and Peyton and how she was back in that place, the place where she felt most vulnerable. She didn't want to admit it before but now it would be hard hiding it from anyone let alone herself. Brooke spun around, pulling her arm away from Lucas's grip. Just as she did that, she felt the back of her hand collide with…

"You bitch!" Peyton screamed, with her hand up against her now red cheek

"No… I didn't…" Before Brooke could finish her sentence Peyton slapped her right across the face, knocking Brooke back against the drinks table, the whole room went silent as Brooke staggered to her feet, looking up at Peyton.

"You whore!" Brooke muttered before pushing Peyton to the ground, slapping her across the face.

"Get off me, you…" Peyton pulled Brooke's hair as she fell beside her, only for Peyton to get on top slapping Brooke across the face "Stupid bitch!"

"Come on Brooke!" Rachel shouted

Brooke pushed Peyton up off her, scrabbling on top as she went to punch Peyton across the face, Peyton screamed pulling Brooke's hair

"You backstabbing, boyfriend stealing whore!" Brooke screamed

Both Lucas and Dean looked at each other before running in to break both girls apart.

Lucas pulled Brooke off Peyton and Dean helped Peyton to her feet.

"Get off me!" Peyton screamed, stepping away from Dean who held his hands in the air as he retreated backwards. "Is this, what things have come to?" Peyton shouted; her eyes focused on Brooke.

Brooke looked up at Peyton and around at everyone else. Before she could have never imagined getting into a fight with Peyton, if anything she would have slapped anyone who so much as pushed Peyton. But that was then and this, this horrible mess was now. On some level Brooke wanted to talk things through with Peyton and make everything alright again but she couldn't stop thinking about her and Lucas and what Peyton had done. Before Brooke could say anything, she felt the sudden urge to be sick. "I've gotta go…" Brooke said covering her mouth and running out the house.

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Brooke had been walking for an hour. After throwing up at least three times and telling Rachel she was fine at least twenty, she found herself walking down the streets of Tree Hill. She'd never noticed how peaceful the town looked when it was like this, when everyone was asleep, at home with their family, with their loved ones.

Brooke did her best to hide it but she missed that, having parents who cared what time you got home, a mom who sat up and waited for you to make sure you made it home in one piece but then again… I guess you can't miss what you never had. Brooke could feel a tear rolling down her face; she wiped it away as she walked passed yet another closed store. Brooke looked up at the light coming from the top of the street; she walked closer to the light, knowing the one place that would still be open.

Karen's Café, there he was, sitting there staring into space. Brooke walked up the stairs of the café and opened the door, walking through. She didn't look up, she didn't have to…she could feel his eyes on her as she walked across the room to the counter to where he was sitting.

"Hey" Brooke whispered in her raspy voice, as she sat down by the counter.

"Hey" Lucas replied, his eyes focused on the beautiful brunette who sat opposite him "Are you okay?"

Brooke bit her lip, nodding "Is Peyton…?"

"Yeah" Lucas nodded. "About Peyton, I wanted to…"

"Luke…" Brooke interrupted "Its okay… I'm not going anywhere" She smiled. There was a silence as Brooke fiddled with her hands, before looking up. "So what do you think the odds are that I'll actually be able to get up tomorrow to take this test?"

"Well considering it's already 'tomorrow', I'd say likely" Lucas smiled looking up at the clock above the door.

Brooke nodded before taking a huge breath "Can I crash here tonight?" She asked

Lucas looked up as his eyes met hers "Yeah sure" Lucas smiled.

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"Okay, girls and boys the time now is 9.30 you have one hour… you may begin"

Brooke looked over her shoulder at Lucas. She winked, smiling before turning around to take the test. For once she wasn't anxious, worried or doubting herself;

"_All you can do is give it your best… and trust me that'll be more than enough" _

Brooke smiled to herself remembering words Lucas had said to her this morning.

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_Sorry about the late update guys, I was away on holiday. Anyway I figured long break deserves a long chapter. _

_Hope you liked it; I've already started on the next chapter so I'm just waiting to hear what you think about this one before posting._

_You know what do…_


	20. You're my drug!

_This update is a really long chapter so enjoy..._

**Chapter Twenty: You're my drug!**

The weekend had come and gone and Brooke had decided to try and keep a low profile. After her fight with Peyton, cheerleading practice had been a little more awkward than usual but; neither girl had spoken, let alone looked at the other so, there were no chance of a repeat of their "little" cat fight. Brooke had also managed to avoid Mouth all weekend, fearing he would ask her to help him out at Dan's again. However in Tree Hill there was no such thing as keeping a low profile, especially with Tree Hill High's last game coming up in a few months. Dan; being the doting parent he was, had decided to throw another one of his…

"It's like a cocktail party, kinda thing it's at Dan's house" Brooke explained as she brushed her hair in the mirror

"Another party, I'm going to be a busy girl shopping for a new outfit" Rachel replied from under her covers.

"Okay, it's not that kind of party so you might want to tone the slut down and wear something classy" Brooke said turning around briefly to face Rachel.

"So what's the party for anyway?" Rachel asked trying to get out of bed.

"Since when did you need an excuse to party?" Brooke teased

"Ha" Rachel faked laughed

"Ha" Brooke imitated Rachel "It's meant to mark the beginning of the basketball season" Brooke continued.

"So… why is Dan doing it now?"

"No idea, maybe he wants to run for president and sees this as a great opportunity to give us all the bad news" Brooke smiled sarcastically, putting her cell phone in her bag. "I don't even think I'm going to go"

"Not this again" Rachel said lying back down

"It'll probably be really lame…. Look, as much as I'd love to stay and chat… I can't, some of us actually have go to school today so I'll see you there… if you actually make it" Brooke grabbed her bag and headed out the door "Get out of bed!" She called before shutting the front door behind her.

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Brooke and Haley, walked down the hall together, both arm in arm. Although Brooke had gone round to see Haley practically everyday when she was recovering from the accident she had still missed having her around at school.

Brooke and Haley were like Brooke and Lucas in the respect that they were opposites. Haley was unpopular, studious, married and a cheerleader not by choice and Brooke was an all round social butterfly, not exactly studious, not married and captain of the cheerleaders completely by choice. Still, a friendship had grown between the two of them, which both valued above all the things that separated them.

"So how's your leg today?" Brooke asked as they reached her locker.

"It's getting there. How's your face?" Haley teased

"And I am never telling you anything…" Brooke said shaking her head

"Oh come on, as if I wouldn't have found out, it seems like the only people not talking about it are you and Peyton"

"Hmm" Brooke said reaching for some books

"How are things with two anyway… have you guys spoken to each other yet?" Haley asked leaning against the locker next to Brooke's.

"Nope" Brooke said shrugging her shoulders

"Well you guys can't leave things like this; I mean we'll be graduating soon…" Haley began

"Look Hales, I love you for trying to sort things out but this fight with me and Peyton, it's been a long time coming and if anyone should be apologising… it's her and the chances of her doing that… lets just say I wouldn't hold my breath" With that Brooke shut her locker as the bell rang "Okay, it's time" Brooke said taking a deep breath

"Time? Time for what?" Haley asked completely confused.

"Results for last week's maths test" Brooke said fiddling with her hair

"You'll be fine" Haley smiled, before reaching out to give Brooke a hug.

"Thanks Hales" Brooke smiled nervously "I'll catch you later" Brooke said before hurrying down the hall towards class.

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"Hey Luke" Peyton called as Lucas turned around

"Hey Peyton" He smiled "Everything okay?"

"Yeah" She smiled "I was just wondering… have you got a minute?"

"Erm… no, I'm on my way to class right now but we can…" Lucas began

"Last night was really fun" Peyton interrupted

"Yeah, it was" Lucas smiled

"I just wanted to talk" Peyton repeated, smiling at him

"Yeah sure" Lucas nodded "How about you meet me after class?"

"Sure, see ya" Peyton smiled once again before heading down the hall.

Lucas quickly hurried to class, surprisingly when he got there, Mr Ward hadn't arrived. He looked round the class, spotting Brooke. She sat there fiddling with her pen; she hadn't noticed him walk in. He smiled to himself walking over to her,

"Hey" He smiled

Brooke looked up at Lucas, slightly relieved he'd come over "Hi" she said taking another deep breath, whilst continuing to fiddle with her pen.

"So… results today?" Lucas said watching Brooke fiddle with her pen

"Hmm, I hadn't thought about it" Brooke said sarcastically.

Lucas smiled, reaching for her pen "You're going to do great"

Brooke looked up at Lucas into his beautiful blue eyes… he was so sure of her. She loved that about him, how he had such faith in her "Thanks" She smiled as Lucas smiled back at her.

"Okay everyone can you take your seats please, hopefully we can start this lesson sometime today" Mr. Ward said as he sat as his desk. Lucas sat down, two seats behind Brooke.

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The bell rang for the end of the lesson. "Make sure, I get your work in by the end of the week everyone. Take your test on the way out… this week's results weren't awful" Mr. Ward smirked

Brooke just rolled her eyes as she got up to collect her paper, trying her best to avoid eye contact with Mr. Ward. She'd had enough of his sarcastic comments for one lesson.

"Brooke Davis…" Mr. Ward began

Brooke just smiled politely, searching for her paper.

"I hope this means you'll start listening in class" He smirked, handing Brooke her paper. Brooke just laughed dryly, making a quick exit.

_What the hell does that mean…? I failed, didn't I? _Brooke thought to herself _Okay, just look at it quickly, maybe it won't be so bad, I mean the juniors seem really nice. _Brooke rambled. _Okay, here it goes. _Brooke started to pull her paper out of the wallet but stopped _No, I can't look._ She said turning around to see Lucas walk out.

"What did you get?" Brooke asked as Lucas walked towards her

He turned his paper to show her "A-, that's awesome" Brooke smiled.

"Thanks" Lucas smiled" So… what did you get?" he asked

"I haven't looked yet" Brooke said shrugging her shoulders nervously

"Well… what you waiting for?"

Brooke took a deep breath and started to open to pull her paper out of the wallet but stopped again "I can't do it, can you look at it?" Brooke said passing Lucas her paper.

Lucas opened the wallet, looking at her paper.

"Okay, is it good or bad?" Brooke asked

Lucas smiled "It's good… it's really good"

Brooke took a deep breath "Okay, but is it 'Brooke good' or 'Lucas good' because there's a difference"

"Brooke…" Lucas laughed

"Well… which one is it?"

"You got an A+" Lucas smiled, turning her paper to show her

"I did what?" Brooke said grabbing the paper and looking at it intensely "Oh my God!" She laughed jumping up to hug Lucas. Lucas laughed, holding her tight as he whispered in her ear. "I told you, you could do it"

"Oh my God" Brooke beamed, still holding Lucas.

The moment felt so right, him holding her in his arms. Brooke stepped out of the hug, looking up at Lucas. "Thanks Luke, I couldn't have done it without you" She smiled

"I'm really proud of you…" Lucas smiled

Brooke looked up at Lucas. He was proud of her, she loved the way it sounded, he was proud of her. In her perfect world she would have reached up and kissed him and told him, she loved him but it wasn't so instead she smiled and nodded.

"Hey"

Brooke and Lucas turned around to see, Peyton standing behind them.

"Hi" Lucas replied as Brooke looked down, uncomfortably.

"Well done Brooke" Peyton said taking a deep breath, smiling politely.

Brooke looked up at her surprised but grateful "Thanks" she smiled "Look, I…" Brooke began just as Peyton started to speak. Both laughed nervously.

"I'm sorry about Thursday" Brooke said "I honestly didn't mean to hit you first…"

"No, it was my fault, I should have listened to you instead of just jumping to conclusions" Peyton interrupted.

Brooke smiled nodding.

"Do you want me to go and…" Lucas began as both girls interrupted him

"No, it's…" Both laughed awkwardly "It's fine" Brooke said finishing off their sentence "I'll see you guys later" She smiled. "Thanks again Luke" She said patting him on the shoulder before turning around and heading down the hall.

Lucas turned to face Peyton "That meant a lot to her" He smiled

Peyton nodded "Yeah… it did to me too"

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By the end of the day, most of the school was talking about Dan's formal party tomorrow night. Brooke however, was too consumed in being happy with her results that she hadn't really paid attention to it. Cheerleading practice had gone really well, Brooke and Peyton had been civil, neither shooting each other hateful looks or rolling their eyes as the other one made a comment. Brooke had said hi to Lucas at the end of the day as he went to get changed for practice. They hadn't really talked about Theresa's party or about what her getting really mad about him agreeing to go to the party with Peyton, actually meant.

In all honestly Brooke wasn't ready to admit her feelings for Lucas; she wasn't ready to for what might happen, how things might change. As Brooke told the cheerleaders to call it a night, Whitey told the boys to get there scrawny butts home and come back tomorrow when they were ready to play like they have a chance of winning the championship.

Brooke packed her stuff away in her gym bag.

"Bye Brooke" Most the girls waved as the exited the gym, Brooke looked up to wave goodbye, as she did she saw Mouth loitering outside. _This ought to be interesting. _Brooke thought to herself as she hurried what she was doing. "Erm... Rachel" Brooke called trying to get draw Rachel's attention away from Dean who she was flirting desperately with.

"Hey Brooke" Lucas said as he walked over to the cheerleaders

"Hey…" Brooke began as Peyton walked up to them.

"Hey Luke" Peyton smiled embarrassedly as she realised that he had come over to speak to Brooke "Oh sorry… I" Peyton said fumbling with her bag

"No… I" Lucas began

"Oh, I should just…" Brooke tried, all of them speaking over one another. There was an awkward silence as none of them knew what to say.

"So…" Lucas began breaking the silence "Are you going to Dan's tomorrow night?" He asked both girls.

Peyton didn't answer, so Brooke assumed the question was just for her "I'm not sure" She said shrugging her shoulder

"You should come" Lucas began

"Yeah…" Peyton smiled shortly, folding her arms as she leaned into Lucas "You should come"

Brooke tried her best to smile politely looking at the 'picture' in front of her "Yeah, well I'll try" She said before trying to get Rachel's attention once again "Rachel?" She called.

Rachel turned around "What?"

"You go ahead; I'll catch you at home"

"Okay but if I take the car how are you going to get home?" Rachel asked. Although she didn't have the most caring of tones Brooke knew she did care.

"Erm…" Brooke thought out loud.

"I'll drive you home Davis" Dean smiled, not trying to hide the fact that he was obviously checking her out.

Lucas titled his head back, trying not to let Dean get to him.

Brooke laughed, completely unimpressed by him "No thanks Dean. I'll see you later Rachel" She smiled, grabbing her bag and walking out the gym.

As she walked out of the school building into the car park, Brooke saw Mouth waiting for her with his bicycle. Brooke looked down at the floor as she slowly walked up to him.

"Hey" Brooke said as she approached Mouth

"Hey" Mouth smiled.

Both Brooke and Mouth began to walk away from the school, neither saying anything. The silence was kind of comforting; considering they had both said there share of things to each other recently.

"I'm sorry about the other day" Mouth spoke, breaking the silence Brooke had actually started to enjoy.

Brooke just nodded.

"I went to Dan's on Saturday…" Mouth continued

Brooke took a deep breath, not trying to hide the fact that she was clearly uncomfortable talking about this, however Mouth didn't notice.

"The writing on the wall… it was still there" Mouth said looking over at Brooke for a reaction, instead she just continued to nod. "So I was thinking I'd go back tomorrow"

Brooke shook her head calmly "Tomorrow's Dan's holding a party at his place so you're going to have to put a hold on your criminal activities for one day" Brooke said, the slight sarcasm apparent in her voice.

Mouth ignored the slight sarcasm and continued to explain "I know that, I'm going… my mom lending me her car and everything…"

"Hold on one second, too many questions to process" Brooke said shaking her head with confusion "Firstly, you're actually going…. I swear the first thing they teach you at criminal school is never to revisit the scene of the crime and secondly not trying to be rude Mouth but isn't the party just for the basketball team…?"

Mouth tried to interrupt "Well, I…"

"And…" Brooke continued "How are you planning on breaking and entering Dan's house when, you and forty other people will be there?" Brooke finished, gesturing to Mouth that he could speak

"Well, I'm the Raven's sports announcer so the guys on the team said, I should go and secondly the party is a great opportunity to do "it". The whole thing is probably going to end around 11pm, most people from school will either go home or ditch Dan's thing for another party somewhere else, Dan will leave to take Karen home or something and the house will be empty"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… slow down, how do you know that Dan will take Karen home? If anything Lucas will take her home and…"

"Well that's where you come in Brooke?" Mouth began, his eyes beaming

"No, no, no…" Brooke said shaking her head

"All you have to do is make sure Lucas goes home with you that night…"

"Excuse me" Brooke said, completely offended by Mouth's suggestion

"No, no… not in that way, I mean if you guys leave the party early and hang out and stuff" Mouth said, trying to clear up the little misunderstanding

"I'm sorry Mouth but I'm not going to do that. Lying to Lucas is one thing, but distracting him so that his mom can go home with a murderer, completely over-steps the mark"

"Brooke, please…"

"Mouth, I don't even know if I'm even going…" Brooke admitted

"Wait, you have to go" Mouth said simply

"Look, I'm not exactly Dan's favourite person right now so the further away I am from him the better" Brooke said rolling her eyes

"Actually Brooke, staying away might only make things worse for yourself…" Mouth began

Brooke turned to face him interested at the logic Mouth's opinion

"It'll look really suspicious if you don't go, I mean you're captain of the cheerleaders, you're friends with Lucas and Nathan and you've been to every one of the party's Dan has thrown" Mouth explained

"Well that was before the whole car incident" Brooke muttered under her breath

"What?"

"Nothing" Brooke lied "Okay, so you have a point"

"And…?" Mouth asked

Brooke took a deep breath, hoping she wouldn't gravely regret her decision "… I'll go" Brooke said "I'll go"

There was another silence as Brooke began to think about the party "Oh great" Brooke said sarcastically

"What's wrong?" Mouth asked

"I've got to go shopping with Rachel for something to wear"

"I don't get it" Mouth asked confused

"This is Rachel, we're talking about… with her advice, I'll probably end up wearing a mini-skirt and a tank top to this thing" Brooke said titling her head back slightly as she dreaded the thought of Rachel's take on classy.

Mouth laughed as Brooke linked arms with him, laughing at the thought.

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It was 8.30pm and, Brooke and Rachel had just arrived at Dan's house. From what she could tell everyone had already arrived. Brooke shook her head as Rachel fumbled with her skirt as they got out the car. She was now more than ever wishing she had excepted Mouth's offer to give her a lift to Dan's, that way she might have arrived on time which, was half and hour ago and therefore easily avoided drawing attention to herself when they entered the house. Although Brooke wasn't a stranger to attention, tonight she just wanted to blend into the background, avoiding any contact with Dan the whole evening.

"Will you hurry up" Brooke whispered to Rachel as she walked up the steps to Dan's door

"Hang on a second" Rachel said pulling down her skirt

"If you had bought an actual skirt instead of that belt you're wearing then you wouldn't have had that problem" Brooke said rolling her eyes

"Haha…very funny. Just remember that when Dean takes me upstairs tonight and I get my cheer on"

"Did you just say… get my cheer on?"

"Whatever" Rachel smirked, walking up the steps and ringing Dan's doorbell "Just watch and learn"

Brooke laughed dryly before mentally preparing herself for what the evening could possibly have in store.

"Well hello ladies" Dan beamed as he opened the door.

_Hmmm, no maid service to open the door, Dan must be trying to cut back this year. _Brooke thought to herself.

"I don't believe we've met before, I'm Dan Scott and you are…?" Dan said holding out his hand for Rachel to shake.

"I'm Rachel Gatina, you have a lovely house" Rachel smiled politely as she walked through into the house.

Brooke just rolled her eyes. _She hasn't even been two steps inside and she knows it's a lovely house._

Rachel turned around and winked at Brooke before disappearing into the house.

"Rach…" Brooke tried to call after her but Dan was already stepping towards her. Brooke took a deep breath, bracing herself.

"Miss. Davis you're looking exceptionally beautiful today" Dan smirked, placing his arm around Brooke "Come in and say hello to everyone else"

Brooke cringed at the feeling of being this close to Dan, whilst trying her best to smile.

Brooke breathed a huge sigh of relief as Dan removed his arm from around her shoulders and gestured for her to walk in first into the living room.

"Look who's arrived" Dan called over to Karen, as she along with everyone else turned to face Brooke.

Lucas looked up to see Brooke. She was wearing a red dress, with the necklace he'd gotten her for her birthday last year. He remembered how when he'd given it to her, she'd wear it with everything, because he made comment about how she could return it if she didn't like it and she wanted him to know that she loved it.

She looked perfect; Lucas couldn't take his eyes off her. Lucas smiled to himself as he watched her saying hi to everyone. He loved how she could make him feel so incredibly happy by just being the in the same room. Her lips, her eyes, her hair, everything was perfect. What he would give to be able to walk across the room and hold her and be with her. Everyone in the room, everyone talking, everything else had become a blur, all he could hear was his heart beating really fast, and all he could see… was her. Lucas watched her as she walked over to him, unable to take his eyes off her.

"Hey" Brooke smiled

"Hey" Lucas smiled "You look…" Lucas said taking a huge breath, trying not to sound like a complete idiot.

Brooke smiled; she knew what he was trying to say.

"Brooke, hi" Karen smiled, walking over to Brooke and giving her a hug.

"Hi, Karen" Brooke smiled, hugging her tight.

"You look beautiful" Karen said, as Brooke stepped out of the hug.

"Awh, thank you, so do you. How are you both?" Brooke said, placing her hand on Karen's bump.

"We're fine" Karen smiled, as she spotted Deb, looking miserable in the corner of the room. "You know what, I'll be right back, I just need to speak to Deb" Karen smiled stroking Brooke's shoulder, before making her way through into the kitchen.

Mouth walked over to Brooke and Lucas to say hi. Although Lucas was pleased to see Mouth he couldn't help but wish he had time to just be with Brooke. They hadn't properly spoken since Theresa's party and there still so much he wanted to say. Lucas thought about asking Mouth if he and Brooke could have a moment alone but realised there was no chance of that as he spotted Dan walking over to where Mouth, Lucas and Brooke stood, followed by Peyton.

"So Miss Davis, I'd offer you the grand tour but you've already been here… right?" Dan stated as he poured himself a drink.

Brooke's heart nearly skipped a beat as tried to think of a time that she had ever been here when Dan actually knew. _Maybe he's talking about when, Luke and I were looking for Karen. _Brooke thought to herself as she looked up at Lucas, who shook his head. Lucas obviously hadn't told him about that, so she couldn't admit to that.

"Erm… no actually…" Brooke stuttered "I haven't been here?"

"Oh, my mistake" Dan smiled, even though they could all see past his fake exterior "I just assumed you being Lucas's girlfriend…" Brooke just rolled her eyes, shuffling uncomfortably as she tried to avoid eye contact with Peyton or Lucas. God, she hated it when Dan did that, taking digs at her relationship with Lucas was getting old now.

"I'm going to get a drink" Brooke said, beginning to walk away.

"Here" Dan said pouring her a glass of cranberry juice "We don't want using your 'skills' to convince the gentlemen at the bar to buy you a drink, now do we?" Dan smirked

Both Brooke and Peyton's jaws dropped ever so slightly in disbelief of how openly rude Dan was being, Brooke brushed her hair back trying to hide her embarrassment. Lucas glared at Dan, warning him to back off.

"No offence Miss. Davis" Dan began, as if to correct himself" It's just some of the people here are from very high places and they would be more than keen to help someone in your situation"

"My situation?" Brooke asked, immediately regretting giving Dan an excuse to continue.

Dan smiled briefly, telling Brooke and everyone else that he was going to enjoy this "Your parents, they've just left you here, completely abandoned you… as mayor of Tree Hill, I and my associates would be more than happy to help you with anything you might need. Money, books… clothes"

Brooke laughed dryly, disgusted by how blatantly rude Dan was being, without even the slightest of shame. "You'd know all about complete abandonment" Brooke muttered under her breath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that Miss. Davis" Dan smiled, challenging Brooke to repeat what she had just said as held out the juice he had just poured for her.

"She said, you'd know all about abandonment Dan, so why don't you stop pretending and leave us alone…. How about you go an impress, people who actually believe half of the crap that comes out of your mouth" Lucas said stepping forward and taking the drink Dan had just poured and placing it firmly on the table.

Dan continued to look at Brooke before deciding he had obviously over stepped the mark. He coughed quickly, fiddling with his tie, looking briefly around the room, to ensure no one had heard what Lucas had just said. He smiled politely and walked over to the other side of the room.

"Brooke, I'm really sorry…" Lucas began

"It's okay…" Brooke smiled trying to cover up how she was really feeling

"No it's not" Lucas insisted, his anger more than apparent "He thinks he can get away with saying crap like that because he's the mayor of Tree Hill"

"Seriously…" Brooke said stepping towards Lucas; she reached out to stroke his shoulder before realising what she was actually doing and how it must look to Peyton. Brooke automatically stepped back "Dan's an ass" She laughed dryly, trying to lighten the mood. However, no one apart from Mouth looked the slight bit amused, Peyton was back to shooting Brooke gamma rays of hate and Lucas continued to glare angrily over at Dan, watching him as he laughed and joked with the other pretentious people of Tree Hill.

"I'm just going to go to the bathroom" Brooke said excusing herself from what had become a very uncomfortable situation.

Peyton waited for Brooke to leave the room before she began to speak "Well, why don't we play a game of "I Never" come on… it'll be fun. Haley, Nathan" She called them over from the other side of the room.

Both looked at each other worriedly, "This game never ends well" Nathan whispered to Haley, as they slowly walked over to the sofa's, followed by Mouth and Lucas.

Once everyone gathered round with their drinks and Dean had shut the door, so that the adults wouldn't hear. Theresa pulled a bottle of vodka from her bag, shaking it around joyously as Bevin and the other girls cheered, before passing it around the newly formed circle.

Rachel poured; some vodka into her cup "You want some Dean" Rachel smiled turning around to face Dean who stood by the door.

"Nah, it's cool. I'll go on look out" He said leaning against the door.

Peyton added some vodka to her cup, taking a full swig before refilling it with some more vodka

"Wait for the game to start Peyton" Rachel smirked, as everyone else poured some vodka into their cups.

"Seeing as you're so eager… why don't you start" Peyton gestured over to Rachel.

"Okay, fine" Rachel began, clearing her throat "I've never… cheated with my best friend's boyfriend"

"Ooooo" Nearly everyone in the circle knew who that was directed at.

"Rachel, come on" Lucas snapped "That's not fair…"

"Fine" Rachel said, holding up one hand. She briefly looked round the room, catching Brooke's eyes as she walked into the room.

"What's going on?" Brooke asked Dean, who was standing 'guard' at the door.

"They're playing "I Never"" He whispered

Brooke frowned, knowing all to well that the game never ended well "Well, I never want to play that game again so, I'll just hang out here" She smiled leaning against the door.

"It's getting good" Dean smiled gesturing over to Rachel.

"You're right Lucas" Rachel continued "That one was a little too targeted at Peyton… how about, I've never cheated on my significant other, you know boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife in your case Nate" Rachel winked over at Nathan who just rolled his eyes.

"Oooo" Theresa smiled as everyone looked at Lucas and Peyton. Lucas titled his head back ever so slightly, regretting opening his mouth in the first place; he glanced over at Brooke who was trying desperately to avoid eye contact with him.

"Well… go on" Rachel persisted

Both Peyton and Lucas took a sip of their drink, followed by Nathan.

Haley turned abruptly to face Nathan, watching him take a sip of his drink "You've cheated?"

"Truth's finally out" Rachel smirked, giving Theresa a high five

"Oh shut up Rachel" Haley snapped

"Yeah, shut up Rachel" Brooke glared at Rachel, warning her not to stir the pot.

"No, I'd never cheated on you… I've never cheated on you baby" Nathan said as he brushed Haley's hair behind her ears "It was… Peyton, I cheated on Peyton" He said turning to face Peyton "Sorry" He smiled sadly.

"Its okay" Peyton nodded, she was in no place to pass judgement.

"Do you want a drink?" Dean whispered to Brooke

"Has it got any alcohol in it?" Brooke joked

Dean smiled, pulling a bottle of vodka from behind the chair.

"Wow, aren't you handy" Brooke smiled "By the way me, excepting this drink is not an invitation to anything else… okay"

"Whatever Brooke, you're totally hitting on me" Dean teased

Brooke laughed out loud "As if"

Lucas looked over at Dean and Brooke. There it was again that jealous feeling, he knew he shouldn't be jealous not when his girlfriend was sitting right next to him, but all he could think about was that jerk making Brooke laugh. He couldn't even concentrate on what everyone else was saying; he just wanted Brooke to be far away as possible from Dean. Lucas shook his head trying to get ride of those thought.

Dean, slowly poured Brooke some alcohol "Thanks" Brooke smiled politely

"Sure" Dean said, as he passed Brooke her drink, deliberately spilling it on her chest

"Oh my God" Brooke said, as she bent down to pick up the cup, he'd just dropped.

Lucas looked over at what was going on in the corner of the room; he could see that as Brooke bent down to pick up a cup, Dean had put a pill in his mouth. Lucas couldn't see exactly what Dean had taken but he knew whatever it was, he had to warn Brooke.

Brooke stood up, looking down at her now wet dress. "Oh" she sighed

"Here" Dean said as he grabbed a towel, reaching over to wipe Brooke's chest.

"God, you don't miss an opportunity" Brooke chuckled "I think I can do it myself" Brooke said rolling her eyes taking the towel from him and leaving the room. Dean took one full swig from the bottle and followed her out the room.

As Lucas tried getting up to follow Brooke, he felt Peyton tug on his arm. "Here's one…I've never felt more ignored by a guy who supposed to be my boyfriend" Peyton said loudly, trying to grab Lucas's attention, which was focused on where Brooke had just left.

"I guess I should drink… right Luke?" Peyton said, reaching for Lucas's arm and turning him to face her as she took a sip of her drink

"Erm… that's not how you play" Bevin smiled

Peyton just rolled her eyes, getting up and walking out the room.

"Awh, don't get upset Peyton. You can still play" Bevin called after Peyton. As everyone looked amongst themselves, Lucas got up walking out the room. Rachel smiled at all the drama, leaning over to Theresa "I wonder who he's going to go after this time" she said loud enough for everyone to hear, as she took another sip of her drink.

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Brooke had been, trying to dry her dress with the towel for at least ten minutes now but it still didn't feel dry and, she couldn't exactly take it off. "Rrrr" Brooke threw the towel on the bed giving up. As she sat down on the bed, she looked around the room. She hated to admit it but the room was rather nice. Brooke could hear people laughing down stairs, she honestly didn't want to go back down there and watch everyone play "I Never" while she was stuck talking to Dean.

"Hey" Dean shouted as he burst into the room

"Okay, some one found more alcohol" Brooke laughed, disappointed that Dean of all people had found where she was hiding.

"No… I found you" Dean said, walking closer to Brooke. "I found you" He repeated really slowly as he stared down at Brooke.

Brooke looked up at Dean, his dark black, carefully style hair now looked a complete mess, he looked like he'd just run a marathon. He was sweaty and breathless and is his perfectly tanned skin now went unnoticed in comparison to his red cheeks. Brooke smiled politely, slightly creeped out by him. "I think I'm just going to…" She said beginning to stand up, but as she went to stand up, Dean held her by her shoulders.

"Don't go" He said looking straight at her.

Brooke looked back into his eyes… his pupils were like little dots "You're on something" Brooke said trying to wriggle free.

"No baby, that's you, it's all you… you're my drug!" He said as he began to kiss Brooke's neck

"Dean, stop it, seriously" She said, trying harder to wriggle free "I want to go"

"Shh, baby shh" Dean slurred sliding his hands around her waist.

"Get off me!" Brooke shouted, pushing Dean off her, but he just pulled her forward, gripping her tighter than before. "You're hurting me, get off m…" Brooke couldn't finish her sentence, as Dean stuck his tongue in her mouth, pushing her down onto the bed.

Just then the door burst open….

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_This was my longest chapter yet and I hope you liked it. Thankyou **brucas2006**,**wtlozy**,**brucas equals love**,**bornagainbrucasfan**, **potato92 **and **brucasmatchmadeinheavennaley** for your comments on the last chapter. It's great to know that you like the story and I love hearing what you think about characters and things that have happened. _

_Keep the comments coming, I love them._


	21. Let the good times begin

_Thank you everyone for your comments on the last chapter, I love reading them!! And I'm so happy to hear that you like the story :)_

**Chapter Twenty-One: Let the good times begin**

"Well, well, well" The person said.

Brooke pushed Dean off of her as they both turned to see who had come in the room.

Dan smiled looking between the two of them. "Miss. Davis, what ever will Lucas say… mind you, I hear payback's bitch" Dan grinned before talking to Dean "I think you should leave now"

"Look old man, we were just having some fun man and it's none of your business…" Dean slurred

Dan stepped towards Dean, annoyed by his defiance "This is my house and everything to do with it is my business" Dan spat back glaring at Brooke momentarily.

Brooke swallowed hard, wondering whether that was a dig at Dean or a hint that he knew something.

"Now if you want to graduate this year, I'd leave right now, before I get you arrested for possession of a substance or how about dealing" Dan hissed

"I wasn't doing anything"

"That's not what I saw and I'm sure Miss Davis will back me up on that" Dan smirked.

Brooke just stood there, still in shock about everything that had just happened.

"You can't do that!" Dean protested

"I'm the mayor, I think you'll find I can do just about anything" With that Dan flashed his trademark smile, letting Dean know that he was no match for him.

Brooke looked between Dan and Dean, trying to pick the better of two evils. Dean was definitely on something; anyone in their right mind would know better than to oppose Mr. Dan Scott.

Dean finally did as Dan had said, making a quick exit out of the room. Brooke tensed as the door slammed behind him. The one person she had been really trying to avoid all evening was the person she was going to be forced to talk to.

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"Have you seen Brooke?" Lucas asked yet another drunken cheerleader. _Stopping the bar from serving any of them alcohol obviously was a waste of time._

"Have you seen Brooke?" Lucas tried again

"Yeah, she went upstairs" A girl slurred

"Where upstairs?" Lucas asked

"In that room" The girl pointed up to the first room upstairs "Dean was looking for her earlier…"

Lucas rushed up the stairs, only to see Dean quickly coming out of the room.

"Dean" Lucas shouted as Dean made his way down the stairs in the opposite direction.

"Hey Ma.." Before Dean could finish his sentence Lucas grabbed him by the shirt, pushing him up against the stair rail "Where's Brooke?"

"Whoa, are you trying to kill me man?" Dean shouted, looking down at how high up the stairs they were.

"Where's Brooke?" Lucas repeated, completely ignoring Dean

"I didn't touch her man... I swear" Dean said, his voice shaking.

Lucas paused looking at him. Dean was really breathless, sweaty and clearly having difficultly focusing. "What the fuck did you take?" Lucas asked

"Just let go of me man" Dean barely managed to say.

"I swear if you've…" Lucas began his voice deep with anger

"I didn't touch her man" Dean stuttered "Just let me go!"

Lucas did as he asked, letting go of his shirt and backing away, as Dean ran past him. Lucas continued up the stairs into the room.

"Brooke…Are you okay?" Lucas asked as he entered the room before seeing Dan standing in the corner "Dan?" Lucas looked confused.

"Hello son" Dan smiled

Lucas rolled his eyes at the sound of Dan calling him, his son "What are you doing here?" Lucas asked, evidently annoyed by Dan's presence.

Dan turned to look at Brooke gesturing for her to explain.

Brooke looked up at Dan who was grinning uncontrollably. She wasn't going to let Dan make out that he was some kind of hero for 'rescuing' her from Dean, she knew he'd enjoy that far too much, not to mention the fact that he'd never let anyone forget it. Brooke looked up at Lucas, brushing her hair behind her ear nervously "I'm sorry Luke, I've got to go" Brooke said, getting up and walking out the room.

"Brooke wait…" Lucas tried

"Leave it son" Dan said walking closer to him "She's a trouble-maker; you're better of without her"

"You don't know anything about her…" Lucas snapped angrily at Dan

"I know that she can take care of herself, she doesn't need you trying to protect her… and nor does your mom" Dan remarked calmly

"What does my mom have to do with any of this?" Lucas asked, annoyed at Dan's anything but subtle way of telling him to stop trying to keep his mom away from him.

"All I'm saying Lucas is that things aren't always like they seem. Your mom isn't in any trouble and nor was Brooke. I hate to tell you this but… I caught her and that boy in here together, I told them this wasn't time or place and that having been a young father myself, they should really be careful. He stormed out angry that I'd broken up their private party and then you came in… Brooke obviously felt bad about it and left" Dan said calmly, without even blinking.

"I don't believe you" Lucas said, still annoyed at Dan's involvement in all of this.

Dan smiled sadly "Fine, I better go and make my toast" He said walking past Lucas towards the door. He stopped before leaving the room and turned around to face Lucas once again "I almost forgot" Dan smiled "Give this to Brooke" Dan threw Brooke's red bra at Lucas "I found it on the bed, and I'm sure she'll be wanting that back" He grinned enjoying the apparent hurt in Lucas's eyes.

"Like I said, I'm sorry son" Dan said before leaving the room.

Lucas just stood there. Feelings of hurt, anger and jealousy taking over; he didn't feel like even knew what had just happened or how he was supposed to feel about it. After all, he still had a girlfriend Peyton, and Brooke and he weren't dating so whatever she did was up to her but he couldn't help but feel betrayed. She had gotten so mad at him when he agreed to go to Theresa's party and yet it was okay for her to hook up with Dean. Lucas paused for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts…

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Brooke sat outside on the steps of Dan's house, thinking of how the evening looked set to end. She could here people making there way into the garden for Dan's lavish "It's all about the kids" speech. All Brooke could think about was how much of a mess she'd help cause. The whole thing with Dan had gone from bad to worse. He knew something was up, she could tell but what could she do to stop him, she was too scared to say anything, not after she'd seen how Dan reacted last time when she voiced her opinions. And Lucas… how could she be back in that place again, loving him, wanting to be with him. She was keeping all of these secrets from Lucas when secrets had torn them apart in the first. Brooke knew better than anyone that secrets had a way of coming out, especially in Tree Hill.

Brooke took a deep breath in, taking comfort in the silence.

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Lucas stepped out onto the balcony, spotting Peyton sitting on the swing. He walked over to her slowly.

"Hey" Lucas said quietly, sitting beside her.

"Hi" Peyton replied, without turning to face him

Lucas took a moment, trying to gather his thoughts.

"So did you find Brooke?" Peyton asked

Lucas paused momentarily, wondering how she knew he'd been found Brooke.

"You went looking for her right?" Peyton asked sadly

Lucas nodded slowly before scoffing "She was with Dean"

Peyton laughed dryly shaking her head "Good old Brooke" she said bitterly.

Lucas didn't laugh; instead he braced himself for what he was about to say "Peyton I'm…"

"You don't have to say it…

"Yes I do" Lucas said turning to face her "I love you Peyton, I do but…"

"But what?" Peyton asked

"But… take last night…" Lucas began

"We had a great time" Peyton protested

"I know we did, and that's because for the first time since we started dating we just hung out, the two of us, not as boyfriend and girlfriend as friends. We had fun hanging out, listening to music." Lucas said trying to explain

"I don't get it…" Peyton began

"I just think that…" Lucas tried again

"No, I mean I don't get how Brooke gets off with another guy and you still want to be with her"

"Peyton this isn't about Brooke" Lucas sighed annoyed by her what she had just said

"It isn't?" Peyton said, completely unconvinced

Lucas ignored her comment, continuing to explain "Brooke broke up with me and you were there. You gave me advice you listened to me go on about how much I wanted her back, you were there when I realised it was over between me and Brooke and I was there for you with Derek... I guess we were both at a point where we needed someone"

"Oh, would you cut the crap, please" Peyton said getting up to face him "This has nothing to do with that it's got to do with Brooke. I gave up a ten year friendship for this Lucas, so the least you can do is be honest with me, can you do that Lucas for once in your life just be completely honest?" Peyton shouted

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"Thank you everyone, for coming tonight to show your support" Dan said addressing all members of the party who had now all crowded around the garden patio "What a fine evening it is" Dan smiled gesturing to the starry sky. "I am so pleased to see the parents of Tree Hill again"

"_Oh would you cut the crap, please"_

Everyone turned towards the direction of the noise, which was obviously coming from the balcony on the other side of the house. Dan cleared his throat, trying to get the attention of the crowd.

"Teenagers, we all remember what it was like" Dan smiled looking over at the adults who all returned his smile, remembering their past antics "Today, like every year is all about the kids"

Nathan and Haley exchanged looks. Who actually bought anything he was saying.

"They are the future and what a bright one it will be, with the talented young people who stand before me. Take my sons Nathan and Lucas…"

"_This has nothing to do with that it's got to do with Brooke."_

Everyone turned around once again. Most of the adults frowned briefly returning to face Dan whilst all the teenagers looked amongst themselves amused and privileged to be witnessing the biggest news at school tomorrow, first hand.

Dan tried again "My sons, Nathan and Lucas have both been through a lot this year, what with the loss of my brother, their uncle… Keith"

Sadness could be felt throughout the room. "I sometimes wonder how I managed to cope" Dan continued

"_For once in your life just be completely honest" _

Dan fiddled with his collar nervously. Lucas and his little girlfriend were making things awfully uncomfortable for everyone.

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Lucas looked up at Peyton, completely taken aback by the sheer volume of her words. "Peyton I…"

"Lucas, please" Peyton said, the anger and frustration still clear in her voice.

Lucas took a deep breath, contemplating whether or not to continue, whether to tell her the truth she so badly needed to know. See, that was the thing with the truth… it hurt and Lucas never set out to hurt Peyton.

"Lucas, I can't do this anymore. I can't keep up this triangle. It's got to stop, someone has to end it and it's got to be you, so just tell me the truth, did you ever love me as more than a friend, are you in love with Brooke… I need to know" Peyton said looking up at Lucas, her eyes pleading for the truth.

Lucas looked into her eyes. God he'd been so stupid, all he ever thought about was the now and what he thought he needed in the moment. If he had just not been so afraid, so selfish then none of them would have been in this mess. He wouldn't have ruined his chances with Brooke; he wouldn't have ruined his friendship with Peyton. "God, I've been so stupid Peyton. I don't even know where to start. Did I ever love you… of course I did. It's just things have… everything's…. When I first joined the Ravens I wanted to be with you so bad but you said nothing could happen and so… I got with Brooke."

Peyton rolled her eyes at that.

"I know it wasn't for the right reasons but it happened and despite the mess I made of it and everything that went on… I wouldn't take it back for the world."

Peyton looked up at Lucas confused by what he was saying.

Lucas noticed before trying to explain "You see, when I look back on it, I realise… that was the only time I think Brooke ever fully trusted me" Lucas laughed sadly "The only time she really trusted me was when I was cheating on her, how messed up is that. And when I wasn't she couldn't trust me"

"Well can you blame her" Peyton mumbled a little too loud

"No your right, back then…I just never gave myself a chance to be happy with Brooke and by the time I realised it, it was too late. I don't know how to explain it…" Lucas paused trying to think of a way to explain what he meant "You know when a friend introduces you to someone new. You don't really know the person, you have all this polite conversation and stuff but all the time you're just waiting for your old friend to come back so you can have fun. Well sometimes when the old friend does come back you realise that you were actually having loads of fun without them but you couldn't see that because you thought you needed them to have fun but you don't… because it turns out that the new person is actually amazing and you don't know how you could have been so stupid as to ruin what you had in the first place, and every time you think of how you hurt her, it breaks your heart because you want to be the person who protects her from ever getting hurt, not the person causing it, and if you could just tell her how much she means to you and how you would wait… forever, just to be with her..." Lucas broke off, realising he had gone off the topic.

He quickly looked up at Peyton who stood there with tears in her eyes. His words bringing her a realisation she had struggled to ignore.

"You really love her, don't you?" She barely managed to say, trying her best not to cry

Lucas nodded, guilty at how his words must have been making her feel "Peyton I'm so sorry, I…"

"No Luke it's not that, seriously I'm not upset because of that. If anything I'm mad at myself more than you"

"I don't get it" Lucas said slightly relieved by her comment

"You're just a guy, you have no clue about things when it comes to girls" Peyton laughed sincerely "Earlier when I said I couldn't do this, that I couldn't keep up the triangle and you had to end it, and I think I was just passing the blame. I don't know what happened with us Luke but ever since I've known you, you've been the one person I can rely on, the person who wouldn't leave… you and Brooke. I've had one of the worst years of my life Luke and I've been so scared of being alone. I think that's why I didn't think twice about believing Psycho Derek because I needed someone to let me know I wasn't going to be alone. You've always been there Luke and I guess part of me just needed the security of knowing you weren't going to leave me like everyone else did… like Jake did"

Lucas looked up at Peyton confused.

"There's something I never told you…"

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Haley turned around again, looking up in the direction of where they had heard Peyton and Lucas arguing "Do you think I should go up there?" She asked Nathan

Nathan shook his head "And risk getting caught in the crossfire of world war three, I don't think so" Nathan laughed

"It's not funny Nathan, it sounds really bad"

"Come Hales" Nathan said brushing her hair behind her ear "Peyton and Lucas never fight, they're too alike, I think it's good that they actually disagree for once"

"My sons have still come through of all it as honourable young men, any father would be proud of" Dan said trying to smile, although feeling the obvious irony of his speech. "I'm sure you can all agree that this year has been extremely difficult, what with the death of that boy Jamie Edwards…"

"Jimmy, it's Jimmy" Haley whispered to herself, looking around the crowd expecting to see Mouth annoyed by Dan's careless mistake, but she was unable to find him. "Where's Mouth?" Haley asked Nathan who just shrugged his shoulders. "Good thing he isn't here to see Dan pretend he actually cares about Jimmy" Nathan replied, putting his arms round Haley. Haley looked up at Nathan, God she was thankful that Nathan was nothing like his father. They were married and having a baby and Nathan was here, loving her, going through it all with her. She was so in love with him for that.

"To the last year at Tree Hill High, enjoy it kids" Dan winked raising his glass as everyone did the same. There was short applause as Dan pretended it was too much "Please everyone, let us go back into the house and enjoy what's left of what has been a memorable evening for us all, especially my son. Let's hope he makes it out of there alive" Dan joked as most of the adults laughed along politely.

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"I went to see Jake the weekend of Nathan and Haley's wedding..." Peyton continued

Lucas shuffled on the spot, uncomfortably as Peyton sat down next to him. "I asked him to marry me"

"Whoa" Lucas said taking a huge breath "Wow, what happened?" Lucas asked trying to make sense of things

"I was confused and Jake thought I was trying to run away from something in Tree Hill"

"What so he said no" Lucas asked

"No he said yes but then no" Peyton shook her head trying to make sense of what she was trying to say "He thought I was trying to run away from something in Tree Hill"

"Something like…?"

"Something like you and my feelings for you but looking back on everything, I'm not sure I was. Part of me wonders whether I proposed to Jake because I didn't want him to leave" Peyton said, turning to Lucas who didn't seem to understand "I had missed Jake so much when he left and I was so happy to see him but part of me kept saying to myself, 'He's just going to have to leave again and you'll be heart-broken' and… then one minute I was asking him to marry me and the next…. I thinking about you and how you'd always been there and how you always would be and in that moment we made sense, you know" Peyton paused, collecting her thoughts before continuing again "We were going to be together before but then everything got in the way and it felt like it was a sign that you were still in my life, that you hadn't left so… I didn't say anything when Jake told me to go back to Tree Hill"

Lucas took a deep breath in, trying to understand everything Peyton had just said.

"I chose the safer option, just like you did" Peyton smiled sadly

"It wasn't the safer option…" Lucas tried

"It was a hell of a lot safer than fighting for Brooke knowing that she might not take you back, just like it was a lot safer not being with Jake knowing that he might have to leave again" Peyton sighed

Lucas didn't reply, knowing that what she was saying was true "I'm always going to be there for you Peyton" Lucas said rubbing her shoulder.

Peyton nodded leaning into Lucas, resting her head on his shoulder "Friends?" she whispered

Lucas smiled, placing his arm around her "Friends"

With that they both sat there for a while, listening to the quite noise of people talking downstairs.

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"Everyone please help yourself to the wonderful food which will be served up shortly if you'll just make you way into the living room" Dan smiled "Complements to Karen's Café" He said, looking over at Karen before stepping off the patio and leading everyone through into the living room. With a glass of wine in one hand and Karen in the other, he led the group of eager parents and teenagers through the house towards the living room to show off the feast he had prepared.

Dan stood in front of the shut double doors to living room.

"Oh God, he's going to make another speech" Nathan said rolling his eyes "It's not like 'the grand opening of the living room' enough already" Nathan whispered to Haley, who was just amused at how Dan never ceased to annoy her with his more than over the top approach to everything.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say, let the good times begin" Dan smiled, as Nathan and Haley cringed at his cheap pun. Dan raised his glass, gesturing for one of the waiters to open the double doors…

As if in a daze, one by one everyone's faces turned from expressions of joy and eager anticipation to shock and alarm. Dan who was to busy grinning to have turned around; slowly looked across all the shocked faces of his visitors, faces which had been so happy a few seconds. Dan thought twice about turning around, worried that something had gone wrong with the entrées or that the menus had gotten mixed up. He searched briefly for Nathan, who looked just as shocked as everyone else, except that he had a glint of fear in his eyes. Dan knew then that whatever had gone wrong definitely had nothing to do with the food.

Dan took a deep breath, bracing himself for what lay ahead.

_YOU KILLED KEITH! _

Dan came face to face with the words spelt in dripping red paint. Words that had haunted him ever since Keith "died".

_YOU KILLED KEITH!_

The room was silent; everyone speechless, motionless. All that could be heard was sound of Dan's glass shattering on the floor.

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_This chapter was shorter than the last but, it definitely had what most of you have been waiting a long time to see happen… Lucas and Peyton break-up, lol!_

_As always I love to read what you think of what's happening, what you'd like to see._

_P.S- If you think what happened this chapter was bad then wait and see what happens next chapter ;)_

_Reviews are love!!_


	22. How Bad Could It Really Be?

_Sorry for the really late update everyone._

_Thank you for you're message __**brucas2006.**_

_This chapter's for you…_

**Chapter Twenty-Two: How Bad Could It Really Be?**

"Oh my God" Karen whispered

"Oh my God" Haley echoed

One by one, as if they had just awoken from a trance, everyone began talking amongst themselves, questioning what they had just seen…

"_Who would do something like this?"_

"_How cruel"_

"_Do you think he did it?"_

"_Poor Dan"_

"_I always thought this family was weird"_

"_To accuse him of killing his own brother… some people have no shame"_

"_I was really hungry"_

"_Do you think he's going to say anything?"_

Their voices getting louder and louder, questions, supposed answers, speculation filled the room as Dan, Karen, Nathan and Haley stood there, motionless.

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Brooke sat outside on the steps looking down at her watch wondering, when it would be safe to go in and ask Rachel if they could leave without, having to see Dan, Lucas or Dean for that matter.

Just as she'd decided to give it another ten minutes she heard glass smash.

"What the…?" Brooke thought to herself. But before she had time to come up with any explanation as to what was going on inside, Rachel came running out the house.

"Where have you been Brooke?" Rachel slurred

"Well…" Brooke began but Rachel was to excited to let her finish

"You'll never guess what just happened!" She squealed. Brooke looked at Rachel, assessing her current state. She could tell she was drunk, so decided not to pay much attention to what Rachel had said.

"Can we go already" Brooke said getting up

"Trust me you're gonna want to see this" Rachel laughed pulling Brooke by the arm, leading them both back into the house, Brooke desperately wanted to get away from.

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Brooke followed Rachel into the house. "So what exactly happened?" She asked Rachel annoyed by the fact that they were taking even longer to leave.

"Like I said, you have to see it for yourself" Rachel said, spotting the now free bar "Oooo" she said staggering over to it and pouring herself a drink.

"Rachel… hello are you forgetting something" Brooke gestured to herself.

"What? No ones going to notice, they're all to busy with what just happened"

"What happened?" Brooke asked again.

"I'm a little busy right now" Rachel gestured to the open bottle of vodka on the bar "Go on in and see for yourself. Dan's just standing there like a zombie" Rachel giggled.

Brooke paused, reluctant to continue on. So Dan had something to do with this? She didn't like the sound of that. _It can't be that bad. _Brooke thought to herself. _Rachel's just had a lot to drink. She's probably exaggerating! _Brooke tried to rationalise and calm her increasing anxiety. _I mean how bad could it really be? _

As she got closer to the living room, she could hear everyone talking no, shouting over one another. It sounded like everyone in the room was talking about Dan.

Brooke walked round the corner and through into the living room, coming face to face with what everyone had just seen.

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"Who would have done something, so cruel" Karen whispered, shaking her head. "Dan… say something" Karen pleaded, placing her arm on his shoulder "Dan?"

Haley reached forward, putting her arms round Karen's shoulders and stepping them both away from Dan.

Nathan moved forward towards his father, hoping to get an explanation "Who would have done this dad?" Nathan asked "Who ever they are, we know they're lying, we all know it" Dan turned to face his son, surprised by what he had just said.

Although Nathan's voice was filled with anger and support all Dan could hear was a naivety and innocence that brought him to shame. Despite their differences, Nathan had just started to respect Dan, even like him. Dan had been there for him when Haley got run over, he had been willing to go to jail for him and even though Dan knew on some level that he was just looking for a punishment for his own sins it had brought him and Nathan closer. A relationship he was not willing to lose right now.

Dan began looking round the room at the individuals who stood around him. He had feared the worst. That they'd all be judging him, sentencing him to life imprisonment before the police had even arrived but instead; as he looked amongst the crowd of people he had been entertaining only a few moments ago, he saw warm smiles filled with support and sympathy.

"I apologise on behalf of our mayor, Mr. Scott for such a devastating end to what was a wonderful evening. And sincerely apologise for the lengths at which our political opposition are willing to go to tarnish everything Mr. Scott's stands for " Dan's PA, Simon Pratt spoke with such conviction to everyone.

Simon was a small, chubby man who clearly prided himself on his appearance. Everything about him screamed fake; his smile, his 'caring' tone, his suit, his wife and two perfect little kids. He was good at what he did, good at pretending and manufacturing an image he believed everyone wanted to see. That's why Dan had hired him, he had reminded him of himself in some ways. Sure enough Simon was younger and far less successful but Simon had a way of turning even the worst situations into a great campaign opportunity and Dan hoped tonight would be no different.

Dan paused for a moment, taking comfort in the crowd's apparent faith in him. But, before he could think of something, heart warming to say, a figure, entering the room, caught his eyes.

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Brooke looked over at the writing on the wall. Her whole body filled with shock. She could have sworn she would have fallen to the ground if she hadn't been holding onto the door handle. She had to get out of there!

Brooke brushed her hair behind her ears nervously, preparing herself to turn and run out of the room, out of the house. But before she could leave, her eyes were met by those of the cold-blooded murder himself… Dan.

Dan's eyes were filled with rage and hatred. Brooke's mind flashed back to the time in car when she had yelled at him and thought about how angry he was then. This was nothing in comparison. If looks alone could kill she would have been dead right then and there.

"That scheming little…" Dan muttered

Although she couldn't hear what Dan was saying she knew she had to get out of there. Brooke's heart began beating faster. _Get out of here! _She screamed to herself trying to make a quick exit, without literally running out of the room.

"Oh no you don't" Dan muttered again

"Dad?" Nathan called, as Dan followed Brooke out the room. No one else had seen the exchange of looks between Brooke and Dan. In fact no besides Nathan had seen Brooke enter the room. "What is going on?" Nathan mumbled to himself, confused by why Dan had gone after Brooke.

"Rachel? Rachel?" Brooke shouted frantically. _Where is she?_

Brooke looked around desperate to see her ticket out of there. _Forget it, she'll have to get a lift home. _Brooke thought to herself, heading through into the hallway only to come face to face with Lucas and Peyton, who were making there way down the stairs.

They looked happy; like they'd just been laughing about the worlds funniest joke and Brooke had ruined the punch-line. Brooke struggled to hid her jealousy and trying her best not to think about what they possibly could have been doing upstairs that would have stopped them from hearing what had been going on downstairs. _Could this get any worse? _Brooke asked herself, as both Lucas and Peyton stopped laughing as they saw Brooke standing in the hall way.

Just then, when Brooke thought things couldn't get any worse, Dan appeared. He stopped, observed the scene in front of him and smiled to himself. Brooke mentally kicked herself for giving Dan this great opportunity to embarrass her the way he thought she had embarrassed him.

"Well isn't this cosy" Dan smirked

Brooke rolled her eyes, brushing her hair behind her ears uncomfortably.

"Where did you two disappear to? You were making so much noise upstairs; I had to move my speech inside" Dan said as Brooke cringed at the thought.

Dan spotted this, realising Brooke's interpretation of what he had just said; and of course being Dan he couldn't pass up the opportunity to twist the knife.

"Young love, hey" Dan added, turning to smile at Brooke who looked deeply hurt by what she had just heard.

Lucas looked over at Brooke, realising how she must have understood what Dan had said. "Actually…" Lucas began trying to explain

Dan interrupted, getting in the way of Lucas's attempt to clear things up "Actually Lucas had something to say to you… didn't you son" Dan said turning towards Lucas.

Lucas looked back at Dan completely confused as Peyton stood there uncomfortably, fiddling with her hair.

"Lucas wanted to apologies for bursting in like that on you and Dean" Dan smirked knowing the effect his words would have.

Lucas's face turned from one of confusion to anger and jealousy. He'd almost forgotten about what had happened earlier. He looked over at Brooke who was still confused by what Dan had just said. _First of all Lucas never walked in on me and Dean, it was Dan and second of all there was nothing to walk in on. _Brooke thought to herself, as she remembered that none of that should have mattered to Lucas anyway, not with his girlfriend goldilocks over there.

"Yeah sorry about… didn't mean to kill you buzz" Lucas said bitterly

Brooke just stared back at him. _Why the hell is he mad at me? If anyone should be mad it should be me! He's the one who was upstairs with Peyton, he's the one with a girlfriend._

"Not that it's any of your business…" Brooke began. She could feel herself doing what she always did when she felt vulnerable… be really mean.

"Your right its not" Lucas snapped ending the conversation.

Brooke looked up, annoyed and slightly hurt by his easy dismissal.

There was a moments silence as Brooke and Lucas stared at each other angrily, before Brooke looked away, frustrated by the entire evening. Soon people started walking out through into the hall, escorted by none other then Simon Pratt.

"Thank you, all for coming" Simon said opening the door.

With this, Dan's focus turned to his 'adoring public' who despite the writing on the wall seemed completely brainwashed into believing Dan was a saint and the victim of a heartless prank.

"I'm so sorry Dan, we're all behind you" A man said, coming over to Dan to shake his hand. "You've still got my vote" He laughed followed by Dan who laughed back politely.

"Thank you everyone, thank you for your support" Dan spoke to everyone "But please don't feel sorry for me… it's my family, I'm worried about and how this has affected them".

Brooke rolled her eyes as some women in the crowd, put there hands on their hearts obviously touched by Dan's persona.

"As long as my family are safe I'll be alright. That's all I care about… they're all I live for" Dan smiled placing his arm around Karen, milking it for everything it was worth.

Brooke had to stop herself from shouting _Oh Palease!!_ Instead she stood there silently wondering how many times Dan had practiced those exact lines in front of the mirror.

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An hour later and everyone had left. Most of the hired helped had packed up and left after receiving only half of their pay; seeing as the evening had been such a shambles Dan had refused to pay for their full service. Brooke had spent most of the hour looking for one opportunity after the next to leave, but Rachel was no where in sight and Lucas kept glancing over at Brooke every five seconds. He had that "we need to talk look" and Brooke knew that the second she headed for the door he would have been right there wanting to talk.

"Okay, I think we should get going" Karen smiled, gesturing over to Lucas.

Peyton had long gone, which Brooke had to admit did make things a little less awkward; however that hadn't stopped her from wanting to leave. Haley and Nathan were still around. Haley had spent the last hour talking to Brooke about baby names and despite three great runner ups they still hadn't come up with anything they both liked.

"Here" Dan said passing Karen a dish of food "I've got so much of it"

Karen looked around at all the food, sighing. "Yes it would be a shame for it all to go to waste. Why doesn't everyone grab a dish or two and take them home"

Dan smiled, agreeing with the idea. He spent most of his time round art Karen's, the food would have only gone to waste. Everyone did as Karen suggested. Brooke walked over to the kitchen counter, searching for food that didn't appear tampered with. For all she knew Dan could have poisoned it. Brooke lifted two dishes one on top of the other, regretting her decision as soon as she began to walk towards the door.

"Oh" Brooke frowned as one of the dishes nearly slipped.

"Here, I'll help you" Lucas rushed over, all to keen to help.

Brooke frowned "No Lucas I'm fine" She said adamantly, continuing to walk out into the hall only to stop again as the dishes got heavy again.

"Let me help you" Lucas persisted

"I don't need you" Brooke muttered back, staring Lucas right in the eyes, letting them both know she wasn't just talking about the food.

Dan, who had been watching the entire scene, smiled to himself walking over to take on of the dishes from Brooke. Brooke turned instantly to face Dan.

"Where's you car?" He said calmly.

Brooke rolled her eyes, damning her luck. She figured there was no point in protesting against Dan's help and that the sooner she took the food, the sooner she could leave.

"This way" Brooke gestured as everyone except Lucas made their way outside to their respective cars, putting the dishes in their boots.

Brooke opened the boot with her keys, placing her dish inside. She stepped back allowing Dan to do so too. As she did then and only then did she remember what she had in the boot of her car. Brooke's thoughts flashed back to that night when she helped Mouth….

"_I can take some if for you if you want?" Brooke offered_

"_Awh thanks Brooke" He said as they walked over to her boot, placing some of the empty paint cans in her boot._

Brooke looked down at the empty red paint cans in her boot immediately shutting the boot. But it was too late, Dan had already seen them.

Brooke looked up at Dan. She could see him put all the pieces together, the pieces of a puzzle he clearly thought he had solved. She watched in horror as he turned his attention to her. If she hadn't have known better she could have sworn, he would have killed her right then and there.

"Bye" Haley and Nathan waved from their car as they drove past.

Dan put on his usual fake smile, waving to the couple as they drove past. Brooke stared down at the ground, unable to stop her hand from shaking long enough to raise it. Brooke's heart began beating faster. She began wondering, why on earth she was still here, long after everyone had gone.

"You all set?" Karen asked as she walked over to Brooke and Dan.

Without thinking, without saying anything Brooke ran into the house pacing straight into the cloakroom to grab her jacket and purse. She needed to get out of there, away from Dan and this evening from hell. As she quickly put her jacket on and began searching for her purse, she was hit with the realisation of what she had just done… walked into a confined, secluded space where Dan could easily pick her part, piece by piece until she cracked.

Brooke felt footsteps behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know who it is.

"Done hiding, Miss Davis?"

Brooke tried to stop herself from breathing so fast by telling herself over and over again to _stay calm, just stay calm_.

"Excuse Mr. Scott, I think I'd better be leaving" She said stepping forward towards the door. As she did, Dan stepped backwards placing his arm across the doorway… She wasn't going anywhere.

Brooke stepped back uneasily. "I'm sorry about the…"

"Don't insult my intelligence Miss Davis, you just got in way over you head little girl." Dan spat "All this because I let Lucas in on a few home truths"

_What was he talking about? What had he said to Lucas _"I don't know what you're talking about?" Brooke said, trying her best to sound strong

"No of course not, you've been doing this for a very long time" Dan said leaning over

Brooke fiddled with the buttons on her jacket.

"I thought I made it very clear, last time that this had nothing to do with you"

"It doesn't…" Brooke tried

"This little stunt of yours may have just cost me my entire reputation but trust me, yours will be the bigger price to pay" Dan threatened

"Mr. Scott I didn't…"

"Without guidance at such a young age there's no wonder you've gone off the rails" Dan smirked

"Excuse me?" Brooke asked confused at which twisted path Dan was taking the conversation this time.

"That's your problem isn't it… you can't stand to see anyone else happy because you're all alone"

Brooke gulped

"Don't think I haven't been paying attention Miss Davis" Dan continued

Brooke looked up at him, disgusted by the thought that he had been watching her.

"What, its okay for you to spy on me, break into my house but I can't keep an eye on you?" Dan asked sarcastically

"I…"

"You're parents left you for… god knows what, Lucas left you for Peyton, Peyton left you for Lucas …"

Brooke looked away tears in her eyes.

"I always liked you better than that Peyton girl… pity Lucas didn't feel the same"

His words stung, but at the same time evoked a hatred inside her. Brooke looked up at him, hatred in her eyes. "What has any of this got to do with me?"

"See that's one thing I can't stand" Dan said raising his voice, as he stepped forward "People who play dumb, when they know exactly what they've done."

"I don't know what you're talking about" Brooke shouted

"Breaking into my house, every week, writing those absurd things on the wall"

"It wasn't me!"

"You wish it wasn't you" Dan hissed

"You don't scare me Mr. Scott" Brooke shouted, hoping somebody would hear them

"Oh but I should" Dan shouted back

"What are you going to do? Kill me like you did Keith!" Brooke nearly screamed "I know you did it, I know you did! But it wasn't me, it wasn't me who wrote that on the wall! Someone else knows and soon…" Brooke said gathering all her strength "Everyone will know the truth" she muttered with such hatred.

Dan stood there unable to say anything. Brooke looked into his eyes, slowly realising the repercussions of what she had just revealed. Dan stared straight back at her. Brooke had expected to see fear, worry or even guilt in his eyes. Instead she saw anger, a survival instinct that told him to do whatever it took to stop her.

Brooke glanced at the door, trying to cease the opportunity to leave. She brushed passed Dan running out the cloakroom, towards the door. She reached for the door knob, opening the front door. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see someone walking down the stairs towards her, but before she had time to see who they were Dan, had come up behind her slamming the door shut in front of her.

"You tell me the truth right now, or so help me god…" Dan shouted in her face

Before Brooke even had a second to react to what Dan had just done. Lucas grabbed Dan by his suit, pushing him away from Brooke against the opposite wall. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lucas shouted

Dan was completely taken back by Lucas. He hadn't seen him coming; god knows if he had he would have chosen his words more carefully. Dan looked between Lucas and Brooke. For once he couldn't think of a smart, cocky explanation as to why he'd acted so aggressively towards Brooke.

Lucas continued to look at Dan, his eyes demanding an answer as he didn't, for a second loosen his grip.

Brooke stood against the wall trying to compose herself.

"Son I…" Dan began

Brooke couldn't stand around waiting for some pathetic lie from Dan. Instead she gathered all her strength and opened the door running out of the house and into her car. She didn't look back. Not once.

If that was the last time she ever saw that house again… it would be too soon.

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_Thank you everyone for all your reviews. I'm glad that you liked the Leyton break up; it definitely had to be the one Leyton scene I enjoyed writing ;)_

_Keep reading and reviewing._

_Until next time xxx_


	23. The huge smoke signal

_Hey everyone, sorry for the really long delay! I know it's been forever since I've updated! It's just work… lots and lots of work but I'm managing to get on top of things again._

_Anyway, as a form of apology, I've prepared TWO long chapters for you!_

_Thank you for all your comments; they're what keep me writing._

_I hope you enjoy this double instalment…_

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**Chapter Twenty-Three: The huge smoke signal**

Brooke and Rachel walked down the school corridor, both equally unenthusiastic to be at school.

"Why does Monday have to come after Sunday" Rachel moaned, wincing at the sound of her locker opening.

"Why do you have to drink your self silly every time we go out?" Brooke retorted, feeling no sympathy for Rachel's hangover

"Excuse me; you're the one who wanted to go out last night not me" Rachel fake smiled "Even though I thought you would have gotten enough excitement from Dan's on Friday"

"I thought we said we weren't going to talk about that and for the last time nothing happened between me and Dean"

"Your damn right it didn't… he's way too hot for you" Rachel said, taking her books out her locker.

Brooke rolled her eyes annoyed that they were talking about the one evening she wished everyone could just hurry up and forget about already.

Brooke had dragged Rachel to Bevin's house party on Sunday night, hoping to drown her sorrows and forget about what had happened at Dan's but, instead she was surrounded my loads of people who couldn't stop talking about it. People who had been there were keenly retelling the story to anyone who would listen, people who hadn't been there were asking for details and making their own assumptions as to what really took place and people like Brooke… people who had wanted to forget about it… well; they should have never have gone to the party in the first place.

"Earth to Brooke" Rachel said waving her hands in front of Brooke "Have you spoken to Lucas since Friday?"

"No, why would I?" Brooke answered quickly, a little too quickly.

"Because, he's heading over here… just wanted to give you a heads up" Rachel said really quickly, as Brooke flung her locker open, burying her head inside.

"Oh yeah, I really can't see you" Rachel smiled sarcastically

"Rrrr" Brooke moaned, closing her locker "Let's just go"

"We can't now, he's made eye contact plus, I know you want to speak your Mr. Lover… Hey Lucas" Rachel smiled widely as Lucas approached, just missing Rachel's nickname for him.

Brooke turned around slowly to face him, smiling briefly, then turning back to face her locker.

"Hey Rachel, hey Brooke" Lucas said smiling politely before taking a deep breath "I tried calling you" Lucas said softly to Brooke

Brooke didn't turn to face him; instead she continued taking books out her locker "I must have been washing my hair or something" She said simply

"What all four times?" Lucas laughed slightly, trying to make light of a growingly painful situation.

Brooke just shrugged her shoulders continuing to look in her locker.

Rachel looked between the two of them, she didn't usually feel any sympathy for Lucas but after that complete brush off Rachel actually felt like helping him pick his pride off the floor.

Lucas looked at Brooke and then a Rachel who shrugged her shoulders apologetically; even she had to admit Brooke was being a little harsh, fair enough she didn't know what was going on and Brooke had avoided anything to do with the topic of Dan's party but she could tell they were both hurting.

Lucas smiled briefly at Rachel before turning to walk back down the hall in the opposite direction. Brooke automatically took a huge sigh of relief.

"Okay I thought he was never going to leave" Brooke said, shutting her locker and beginning to walk down the hall with Rachel by her side.

Rachel shook her head completely unconvinced by Brooke's apparent relief.

"I thought you left your bag at Dan's" Rachel asked

"Yeah I did" Brooke replied

"Well then why didn't you tell him that?" Rachel asked

Brooke paused trying to think of a reasonable excuse "Because…" Brooke began stuttering whilst trying to motion with her hands "Because…."

"Because you want to make the whole you love him, he loves you situation… ten times harder than it needs to be" Rachel interrupted looking at Brooke seriously.

Brooke just looked at her unable to deny that she wasn't make things any easier. Rachel smiled sadly at her before spotting Bevin and Theresa "Hey girls" Rachel said walking over to them.

"Brooke?" Rachel called, disturbing Brooke's thoughts "You coming or what captain?"

Brooke huffed walking over to the girls as they made their way to cheer practice.

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"Great guys, I think we got it that time" Brooke smiled, reaching down to stop the player. "See you all on Thursday" Brooke said as the rest of the cheerleaders began to pick up their things, heading back through into the locker room.

Brooke took a deep breath, turning around to pack up her things. She placed her gym bag over her shoulders and the player in the other hand.

"Do you need a hand with those?" A familiar voice said.

Brooke turned around to see Peyton, standing in front of her. "No thanks" She replied quickly, reaching over to try and pick up her CD cover.

Peyton watched for a moment as Brooke struggled to hold her CD between her only free fingers. "Here" Peyton said reaching for the cover "It's no big deal"

Brooke glanced over at Peyton, suspicious of her sudden change in heart, as they both walked over to the benches placing everything down.

"You should really get some help with all this stuff" Peyton said, breaking the awkward silence

"I can manage" Brooke said, slightly snappy.

"I just would have thought cheer slut Rachel could have helped you" Peyton laughed, before seeing Brooke's far from amused expression.

Brooke just looked at Peyton shaking her head before grabbing her gym bag and heading through into the locker room.

"Brooke wait" Peyton called after her

"For what exactly" Brooke asked spinning around suddenly

"Is this how things are always going to be, between the two of us?" Peyton asked

"You're kidding right?" Brooke asked, knowing the answer to the question

"No… it's just… the way things are Brooke…"

"You never seemed to have a problem with the way things are a week ago… what's changed?" Brooke asked, completely unconvinced by Peyton apparent epiphany.

"I just want my best friend back Brooke" Peyton said, stepping closer.

"That doesn't make any sense" Brooke said, remaining firmly where she stood "Why now, after everything… why all of sudden do you care about our friendship?"

"What do you mean Brooke? I've always cared about our friendship"

"Oh really? Did you care about our friendship when kissed Lucas, or when you told me you had feelings for him?"

"How many times do I have to tell you…I just wanted to be honest with you"

"Honest?" Brooke spat "You don't know the meaning of the word, you only wanted to be honest with me when it suited you Peyton. You could have buried your feelings for Lucas, like a true friend, especially considering all of our history… you could have buried it, you should have buried it…"

"But…"

"But you couldn't trust yourself… was that it?" Brooke asked

"No" Peyton responded defensively

"You thought at least if I tell her I like her boyfriend then when I make out with him AGAIN it'll be okay because I gave her a warning"

"No it wasn't like that Brooke, I swear"

"Or how about my birthday Peyton? How about my birthday?"

"What about your birthday" Peyton asked completely oblivious to where the conversation was headed.

"Did you come and see me, did you call, did you text?"

Peyton shook her head slowly

"Not even a short and sweet, "Happy 18th birthday Brooke" hmm?" Brooke continued the sarcasm spilling from every word she spoke.

"You told me you never wanted to speak to me again" Peyton answered defensively

"True, it just surprised me that you would go to the mall, on my birthday with Lucas" Brooke began, her voice cracking "The mall… our tradition. Remember how we used to go every year since we were like what…?" Brooke said trying to think

"Thirteen" Peyton said, looking over at Brooke sadly

"I went to the mall that day because I thought you'd be there, because I wanted to spend my birthday with my best friend despite everything I'd said, I wanted to be with you on that day and just remember how things were, how things used to be before it all got really messy" Brooke said, fighting back the tears "But…" She continued, composing herself "I saw you there with Lucas"

"Brooke we were waiting for you"

Brooke laughed bitterly "Yeah right Peyton. You expect me to believe that you were waiting for me, so that we could all spend my birthday together. That would have been real cosy, my ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend who P.S. is in love with him"

"We thought…"

"What exactly did you think would happen Peyton? That we'd all kiss and make up and go and for some ice-cream?"

"Brooke" Peyton whispered, unable to think of answer to her question.

"Just tell me why Peyton?" Why now?" Brooke asked

Peyton paused, looking down at the floor, she didn't want to answer the question but she knew she'd have to tell her sooner or later.

"Why now, Peyton?" Brooke asked again

"Lucas and I… we broke up"

Brooke was slightly taken aback by her words. It's not that she was completely surprised by Peyton revelation but she just wasn't expecting it, with everything that had been going on with Dan and Mouth… Lucas and Peyton being together had felt like one of those things you just endure but never really accept. Brooke looked up at Peyton wondering whether she needed Peyton to repeat it, just to make it sound more real… but decided against it, seeing as Peyton's words were already clearly ringing in her ears, letting Brooke know she hadn't heard wrong.

Just as Brooke was about to offer a weak and strictly polite "Sorry" or "Are you okay?" She remembered the conversation they were had just been having and all her feelings of disappointment and frustration washed over her.

Brooke nodded her head "And that's why you care about our friendship again?"

Peyton looked down, aware of how Brooke saw the situation. "You're wrong Brooke?"

"Am I? Tell me Peyton, did you break up with Lucas because you thought it would get our friendship back or did you break up with Lucas because…"

"That doesn't matter Brooke"

"It matters to me" Brooke replied firmly "Did you break up with Lucas because you thought it would get our friendship back, yes or no?"

Peyton shook her head

"If you and Lucas were still together, would you be having this conversation with me?"

Peyton paused, not wanting to respond to the question

"Would you Peyton?" Brooke asked, her eyes pleading for Peyton to respond to the question she already knew the answer too.

"Probably not" Peyton stuttered "But Brooke you…"

Brooke didn't stick around to hear Peyton's lame explanation. Things were crystal clear. Brooke grabbed the CD cover placing it in her gym back and walked through into the changing room, leaving Peyton alone in the gym.

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"Hey Rachel" Mouth called, as he walked over to Rachel who was sitting outside.

"Hey Mouth, we missed you all weekend. Where have you been?" Rachel asked.

Mouth smiled nervously which didn't go unnoticed by Rachel "No where really, how did the thing at Dan's go?"

"Don't tell me you haven't heard" Rachel asked more than happy to fill in all the details.

Mouth shook his head pretending not to know a thing, something he had become very good at.

"Well" Rachel began before spotting Brooke heading over to them. Rachel rolled her eyes, disappointed that she wouldn't get to tell the story "I'll have to tell you some other time… Miss Sunshine" She said gesturing over at Brooke "Is coming over and she doesn't want to talk about anything that happened at Dan's" Rachel said

"Why?" Mouth asked

"That's the thing I don't know. She stayed behind like ages after everyone left and I'm guessing something must have happened"

"Where were you?" Mouth asked worried by the sounds of things

"I got a ride from Dean and his mates. Dean was totally out of it, so being the kind person that I am, I told him he could come in for something to drink and well... I don't really have to fill in the blanks for you Mouth do I?"

Mouth took a second before realising what she meant "Oh right"

"But Brooke doesn't know, so that can just stay between the two of us… well the three of us if you count Dean" Rachel said grinning "And Brooke thought he was into her" She said trailing off into her own thoughts.

"Hi Rachel" Brooke said as she approached the bench "Hello earth to Rachel"

Rachel snapped out of her daze "Oh hi, I was just thinking about…"

"Dean and you're "classy" encounter on Friday" Brooke said sitting down

"How did you know?" Rachel asked

"Because you talk really loudly when you're boasting to like the whole squad" Brooke said rolling her eyes.

"Oh well, I told you he was into me" Rachel smirked "I'll see you guys later" Rachel smiled getting up

"Where are you off to in a hurry?" Brooke asked, suspicious of Rachel's quick departure

"The guys have practice and I'm just going to offer my support" Rachel grinned

"You're offering something alright, but it isn't you're support"

Rachel faked shock, smiling "Whatever Captain Bitchy, you're just jealous because Dean turned you down"

"He did not… you just need to be careful with him okay, he's…" Brooke began but then decided against it knowing that whatever she said about Dean, Rachel would most definitely take a completely different way "Just go already and… have fun" Brooke smiled sarcastically

"Oh I will" Rachel smirked heading off into the school.

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Practice had been going well so far. Whitey and Nathan had engaged in their usual power struggle at the beginning of the game but, after a speech from Whitey on team work and equality, directed solely at Nathan, the guys began to play. Rachel and some of the other cheerleaders had given up on pretending to stretch for an obviously non-existent cheer practice and had settled on cheering frantically every time Dean got that ball.

The girls over enthusiasm had not gone unnoticed by Lucas who spent most of his time rolling his eyes at Dean. It had become extremely annoying when Dean would asked for the ball only to pause and look over at the girls, winking, milking it for every it was worth before finally deciding to continue with the game. As if Lucas's day wasn't bad enough he had to watch that jerk flirt with nearly every girl on the team. He was just thankful Brooke wasn't there because the way Dean was going on, if he had so much as looked at Brooke right now, Lucas seriously would have hit him.

"Ball, Nathan ball" Dean called as Nathan frowned, pausing for a second before passing Dean the ball reluctantly.

As soon as Dean caught the ball a cheer could be heard from the girls. It was mostly Rachel but Dean still stopped to turn around and grin over at the girls. Both Lucas and Nathan looked at each other, equally annoyed at Dean.

"Hey Coach, are you going to do something?" Lucas asked "At this rate, we'll never finish the game"

Whitey nodded. He had been trying to keep calm but Dean was clearly getting to him too. Whitey blew the whistle angrily. The hall went quiet as everyone turned looking over at Whitey "Excuse me Casanova, would you mind focusing on the game long enough for your team score or would you prefer I put you on the bench at Friday's game, that way you'll have a clear view of the cheerleaders and be able to make eyes at then all night"

Tim started laughing only for Whitey flash him a look and he stopped.

"Which is it gonna be?" Whitey asked

Dean looked around quickly, bouncing the ball once "Continue with the game" he nodded obediently but clearly annoyed that he had to be "told off" in front of his adoring public. Dean continued dribbling the ball towards Lucas who was standing by the basket.

"Hey, next time you have a problem with me, how about you tell me instead of running to Whitey about it" Dean hissed.

"What you mean like Friday, when I pinned you against the banister and you practically begged me to back off" Lucas replied

"Pity Brooke didn't say the same to me, huh" Dean smirked knowing full well the effect of his comment.

Lucas stopped trying to tackle him and shoved him away from the basket.

"Boys!" Whitey whistled "Cut it out"

"Hit a nerve did I?" Dean teased as he regained his balance

"Trust me, I'm gonna hit more than a nerve if you talk about her like that" Lucas said stepping forward.

"Is that a threat?" Dean asked stepping towards Lucas.

"You think you're so smart don't you. Thought you'd just put something in her drink make things a hell of a lot easier" Lucas shouted, pushing Dean again.

The gym went silent as the girls looked over at Dean, shock and disgust across their faces.

Dean looked around; Lucas's words had quickly changed the opinion of most of the girls on the team; especially Rachel who looked like she wanted to slap him. "Oh come on" Dean shouted addressing the whole gym "As if Brooke Davis needs a drug to make her… "easy" Before Dean could turn to face Lucas and the rest of the team. Lucas's fist went smack into Dean's face, causing Dean to fall on his side.

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Brooke fiddled with her bag looking for her calculus textbook. "Thank goodness" She said to herself, as she found it, placing it on the table and getting out her pencil case.

"Okay, you must be really mad at me" Mouth said as Brooke ignored him, continuing to get her pen out of her pencil case.

"You'd rather do maths than talk to me" Mouth continued

"This might sound a little odd to you, seeing as you don't seem to have a conscious but… I didn't get a lot of anything done this weekend so excuse me for trying to catch up" Brooke said calmly, still looking down at her work

"So this is all about Friday?" Mouth asked.

Brooke didn't reply.

"I told you I was going to do that" Mouth continued

"No. You said you wanted to do it, I told you not to and you went ahead and did it anyway!" Brooke snapped

"But Brooke…"

"I was stuck there the whole evening and…" Brooke stopped not wanting to go into further detail.

"And…" Mouth asked

"And you just shouldn't have done that okay"

"But Brooke, it worked… everyone's talking about it" Mouth said, the excitement clear in his eyes.

Brooke shook her head, annoyed by his naivety "No one believes it Mouth, if anything you discredited the entire accusation. Dan and his pet puppet Simon have turned the whole thing into another campaign angle"

"But everyone's talking about it" Mouth repeated

"Yeah I know, but not in the way you want to be" Brooke said sadly "The only person this has really changed… is Lucas"

"What do you mean?" Mouth asked, worried

"He seems angrier... I don't know" Brooke said, trying to shrug off her guilt.

"Why did you stay there?" Mouth asked "At Dan's, why didn't you leave... Rachel said you were there until really late and when you came home you didn't want to talk about it"

"I must have missed the huge smoke signal you sent me, warning me to leave the crime scene" Brooke said sarcastically

"Seriously Brooke… what happened?" Mouth asked softly.

Brooke paused for a second, looking at Mouth. She didn't know why but she felt scared to tell him, scared to talk about it. "Dan" She said so quietly that Mouth wasn't even quiet sure of what she said. "Dan thought it was me" Brooke said.

Mouth's sat back in disbelief "What? How?"

"I don't know" Brooke said, trying to end the conversation she had already regretted starting.

"Brooke" Mouth said

Brooke rolled her eyes, knowing she'd have to tell him sooner or later "A while ago, when I was on my way to Luke's to revise. He gave me a lift" Brooke began, taking a deep breath "Well, we were in the car and he started saying all these horrible things, you know the usual and we somehow got onto the topic of Keith and he said something that really got me and…" Brooke paused looking up at Mouth who was listening intently "I… I shouted at him, I told him I knew he killed Keith" Mouth eyes widened "And he grabbed by wrist really tightly and yelled at me to shut up, he said I didn't know what I was talking about and to stay out of stuff that didn't concern me" Brooke said quietly turning to look at Mouth who was staring into space, trying to process what he had just heard.

"That's why you had that bruise on your hand" Mouth spoke

"How did you know about it?" Brooke asked

"Lucas mentioned it when we were in the library, he told me he was worried about you but he didn't want to push it… I take it you didn't tell him the truth?"

"How could I?" Brooke asked defensively "Mouth, Dan thinks it was me. He cornered me at his house and told me I was going to pay for what I'd done… I'm scared Mouth, I don't know what he's going to do"

Mouth looked at Brooke, trying to think of some comforting words. He knew it was all his fault but he couldn't bring himself to say it "Look, Dan might think it's you but he has no proof. And if this whole thing has taught me anything, it's that you need proof… without it… well you end up breaking into a guys house and painting things like 'murderer' on their walls" Mouth laughed and so did Brooke.

"How about we get out of here?" Mouth suggested glad that she had cheered up a little

"Mr McFadden, are you suggesting we skip" Brooke said putting on a fake surprised tone.

Mouth smiled nodding, getting up and putting his bag over his shoulders.

"Fine by me" Brooke smiled, packing her things away "Let me just get the keys from Rachel" Brooke said before linking arms with Mouth and walking into the school building.

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The whole gym and erupted in noise, as Whitey whistled hopelessly, trying to restore order. Lucas punched Dean across the face again, only for Dean to retaliate by punching Lucas just as hard. The guys on the team had stood there for a second, wanting to see who could take who but after Whitey's fourth whistle decided it best they intervene.

Nathan pulled Lucas off Dean, forcing him back against the wall as Skills and some of the other guys on the team helped Dean up.

"Get off me, man" Lucas said, edging forward.

Nathan however, kept a firm grip, holding him back. "I get it man, you're angry that guys a jerk but this isn't going to help"

"I didn't touch her… okay" Dean shouted, wiping his bloody nose.

Lucas laughed "Yeah right"

"I swear… I didn't put anything in her drink, I took some…" Dean looked up at Whitey realising his chances of playing this Friday were getting slimmer and slimmer "I took some… stuff and I was out of it, I might have… forced myself on her…"

Lucas edged forward again, only for Nathan to hold him back.

"She turned me down, so I backed off! That's was it, okay. She wasn't into to me, she said no, so I left it… I swear" Dean said looking at Lucas seriously.

Lucas looked at Dean, pausing for a minute before nodding his head. He gestured at Nathan to let go of him. Nathan stepped back, not entirely convinced as Lucas walked over to Dean.

"Why was she upset?" Lucas asked "If you left it, why was she upset?"

"I already told you man so back off" Dean said walking away from Lucas.

Lucas smiled angrily walking over to Dean "If you hurt Brooke…" Lucas began

"You'll what?" Dean said looking around at the gym again, performing to his wider audience "Get Daddy to kill me, like he did Uncle Keith"

Lucas winced, punching Dean hard, so that he fell against the wall. Dean didn't bother get up.

At that moment, the sound of the gym door slammed shut echoing through the room.

Everyone turned to see, Brooke and Mouth staring at Lucas. Brooke shook her head, walking straight back out of the gym.

"Brooke" Lucas called after her, following her out the gym.

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	24. Those read and delete girls

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Those read and delete girls**

"Brooke, wait up" Lucas said following Brooke out into the hall.

Brooke continued walking until her anger got the better of her "What is with you Lucas?" She said turning around unexpectedly "Nothing happened between me and Dean"

"That's not what Dan said" Lucas fired back

"Since when did you believe everything Dan told you? And the last time I checked… you were the lying, cheating jerk NOT ME!" Brooke shouted back.

"Are you ever going to forgive me for that?" Lucas retorted sounding exasperated.

"Oh I forgave you a long time ago Lucas; it's just the forgetting that's not that easy"

"Brooke…"

"And even if something did happen between me and Dean, it has nothing to do with you; I don't need you protecting me"

Lucas shook his head. Brooke not needing him was becoming more and more familiar to him. "You never need me Brooke" Lucas muttered hopelessly

"What as apposed to your girlfriend Peyton who always does"

Lucas ignored the Peyton comment continuing with what he was saying "How do you expect me to be there for you, if you're so damn head-strong that you won't allow yourself to need anyone"

"You're kidding right?" Brooke brushed her hair behind her ears, putting her hands together, clearly stressing her point "I needed you Lucas I did... I needed you to tell me the truth about your kiss with Peyton... I needed you all this time when I haven't been talking to my best friend or when my parents haven't even cared to call me to see if I'm…" Brooke broke off, reluctant to talk about her parents or lack of them.

Lucas caught her eye, he knew that she didn't have a good relationship with her parents, in fact she didn't really have one at all, but having her stand there in front of him unable to talk about it because it hurt so much; made him wish more than ever, that in that moment he could just hold her, just be there for her and be all the love she'd ever need.

Brooke took a deep breath "Lucas… I needed you to need me back and you couldn't ever do that"

"Brooke… I did need you, I still do" Lucas looked Brooke in the eyes wanting so badly to hold her as he told her how he felt "I might not have said it Brooke, but I couldn't have gotten through Keith's death without you, I needed you then more than I've ever needed anyone before… Some mornings, thinking about you, knowing that I was going to see you was the only thing that got me up, out of bed…"

Brooke could feel her eyes burning.

"You were so strong, you were there for me and I loved you so much for that."

Brooke could feel her heart melting, she knew all she wanted to do at that very moment, was run into his arm and tell him to 'hurry up and kiss her already' but she couldn't. There was still that voice nagging away at her, that persistent thought

"Lucas… about Peyton…" Brooke practically whispered, as if to try not to ruin the moment.

"We're not together anymore" Lucas smiled slightly stepping forward.

Brooke noticed how Lucas had stepped forward as he said that, how he'd smiled as if given a new hope. "I know, she told me" Brooke replied watching him closely.

Lucas looked a little surprised but glad "I was thinking that we…"

"We could what Lucas?" Brooke snapped "There is no "we" Lucas" Brooke said stepping backwards. She could see it all know, why Lucas was being so open, so out there, why he all of a sudden had this desire to talk about how he felt "God, this is just like you" Brooke smiled bitterly "You break up with Peyton and you realise there's a vacancy for 'Lucas's new girlfriend' and you think right… I'll get with Brooke"

"Brooke…" Lucas tried, confused at why she had gotten so angry.

"No, I suppose it is my turn right. Brooke, Peyton, Brooke, Peyton… do you know how sad that sounds"

"Brooke it's not like that"

"You're right its not, because I'm not going to let it happen again, this yo-yoing between Peyton and I... I get it, she broke up with you and you don't want to be alone"

"Brooke that's not it and you know it. You're just saying all of this because you're afraid"

"Afraid of what?"

"Of being with me. You think I'll hurt you again"

"Can you blame me" Brooke said, unsure whether she had just admitted to wanting to be with him.

"You're not going to push me away Brooke. When we got back together, I told you I'd never let you go again and I did. Letting you go was the biggest mistake of my life and I can't take it back. But what I can do is fight like hell to be with you, to prove to you that I love you and that I'm in love with you"

Brooke couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She didn't want to be vulnerable… not again. She didn't want to admit that she still loved him, that despite everything he had done, everything that had happened between the two of them… that she wanted to be his pretty girl again. Brooke turned and ran out of the building, tears running down her cheeks. She wanted so much to tell him she felt the same but she couldn't.

She just couldn't.

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The phone rang loudly echoing throughout the landing.

"Are you gonna get that?" Rachel asked from upstairs

"Yeah sure" Brooke said getting up from the sofa to answer the phone. "Hello"

"Hey Brooke"

"Hey Mouth" Brooke smiled, surprising herself. She didn't know she'd be happy to hear from him until now. "What's up?" Brooke asked

"Nothing much, just wanted to see if you were okay, after today. I didn't see you for the rest of the day"

"Yeah I went home… I should really stop doing that; the teachers might actually start to notice"

Mouth laughed and so did Brooke. It was strange how they could most times be so absorbed with the whole Dan fiasco and yet have moments where it would seem as if none of it even existed, as if they were just two friends talking, laughing, being there for one another; without what felt like the weight of the world problems on their shoulders.

"Did you get my text about Dan?" Mouth asked

"Erm…" Brooke thought before remembering "Oh crap. No I didn't… what did it say?" Brooke asked.

"Why, what's wrong?"

"Well it depends on what it said… was it the sort of text anyone could read or the sort of text that…"

"That shouldn't be read anyone else except you" Mouth said, finishing her sentence "Why did Rachel see it?"

"Worse…" Brooke said

"Who?"

"What did it say?" Brooke asked again, not wanting to tell Mouth were her cell phone could be.

"It just said, not to worry about Dan thinking it's you, that he has no proof and that I'm sorry I haven't been there for you... something like that"

Brooke smiled at the words, before reverting back to the reality of the situation. "I left my purse at Dan's… and it has my cell in it"

Mouth didn't respond.

"Mouth, you still there?"

"Yeah I am" Mouth said slowly, trying to think "Brooke… you've got to get it back"

"How? Lucas did say, he'd ask Karen to get it from Dan next time"

"No don't do that" Mouth said quickly "What if he doesn't know you left it there and getting Karen to tell him, could draw attention to it and he's just read your texts… oh my god what about all the other stuff I've sent you, tell me you've deleted them"

Brooke's heart started to beat faster "Why couldn't I be one of those read and delete girls"

"Brooke, you've got to get it back"

"How?"

Mouth paused long enough for Brooke to realise what he was suggesting.

"No, no way. I promised myself that I would never go back to that house again, not again"

"Brooke…"

"No Mouth, I'm not doing it. If you're so concerned about it, why don't you get it"

"Brooke we have to…" Mouth began

"Look Mouth, I have to go. I have and incoming call" Brooke lied

"Brooke" Mouth said

"I'll talk to you later"

"But…"

"Bye" Brooke said quickly putting the phone down. She knew she couldn't let herself be talked into going to Dan's house again. I mean, sure Dan had her purse but she could easily get it back from Karen right?

Although Brooke tried to convince herself that telling Karen was the best option she knew that Mouth was right. She had to get it back.

"Hey Rach, I'm going out for a bit" Brooke called, wanting to avoid staying in and going around circles thinking about it all night.

"Ok, well if I'm not here when you get back… don't wait up" Rachel smiled widely, leaning over the banister.

"Do I even want to know this time?" Brooke asked preparing herself to cringe at Rachel's sordid response.

"Hmmm… you might not want to know" Rachel grinned "But Josh Barts definitely does"

"Oh my God… him again" Brooke said tilting her head back "I thought you dumped him because he was, what was it… too dumb"

"Yeah well he got smart again" Rachel grinned, shrugging her shoulders

"And yet you're still shallow. I guess change isn't for everyone" Brooke teased

"Whatever just get your skanky ass out of here already"

"I'll take that as a goodbye then shall I" Brooke smiled

"Bye" Rachel waved sarcastically, before laughing "See you later"

"Bye" Brooke smiled, grabbing her jacket and heading out the door, into the darkness. She wasn't sure where she was going, all she knew is that she needed to think that or try and stop thinking about everything.

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It was a quarter past nine. Lucas had just locked up the café and his mum was already asleep. He walked through the kitchen, past Karen's room; briefly looking in to check on her before making his way towards his bedroom.

As he approached his room, he could see his light on. Lucas wondered who it could be… Nathan? Although long gone were the days when Nathan used to crash at Lucas's after a fight with Haley. Nathan had really pulled his act together, taking care of Haley and their unborn baby, Lucas often found himself envious of his brother, for becoming the man he had struggled to become.

Lucas slowly entered the room, looking towards the door, but there appeared to be no-one.

"Hey" said a raspy voice from behind him.

Lucas spun around quickly, shocked by the presence of the beautiful brunette standing in his room. "Oh my god, you scared me…I think I just had a heart attack" Lucas said putting his hand to his heart

"Luke, are you serious?" Brooke asked, worried

Lucas nodded quickly, leaning forward.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry, are you okay, do you…, should I…?" Brooke stuttered stepping towards him, really concerned.

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine as long as you keep doing what you're doing right now" Lucas said, his hand still on his heart.

"Yeah sure, what is it?" Brooke asked, stroking his shoulder

"Talking to me" Lucas smiled, unable to pretend anymore

"Lucas Eugene Scott, I am going to kill you" Brooke said hitting him

"Hey" Lucas said, faking to be hurt

"I was seriously worried there"

"Sorry" Lucas smiled before bursting out laughing again

Brooke just shook her head, walking over to his bed to sit down whilst pouting so Lucas would stop laughing.

"Okay, okay…I'll stop" Lucas said trying to stop himself from laughing only to start all over again.

"That's it, I'm going" Brooke said still sitting on his bed.

Lucas smiled, unconvinced.

"I will" Brooke said getting up.

"Don't go" Lucas said reaching out for Brooke arm "I'll stop" He smiled

Brooke stopped instantly as she felt Lucas touch her. The tingle of his touch making her heart beat a little faster, she couldn't hide it. Instead she looked down at his hand on her arm, as if seeing it would make it any less real.

Lucas noticed looking up at Brooke but before he had the chance to meet her eyes, Brooke brushed her hair behind her ear with her free hand and smiled quickly "I'll stay if you give me my arm back" Brooke said jokingly

Lucas could see what she was doing but decided not to push it, after today it was clear she definitely wasn't ready to admit anything she still might feel for Lucas. Lucas let go returning her smile. "So you're staying?" Lucas asked

Brooke nodded, walking over to sit on his bed again.

"And you're talking to me?" Lucas asked as Brooke nodded in response

"Hmmm…" Lucas was clearly confused "It's just today…" Lucas began

Brooke took a deep breath in, realising how unfair she was being "I don't know why I came, I was just went for a walk and ended up here" Brooke admitted honestly

Lucas nodded, pleased that she was here. Even if they were just going to hangout and he was going to have to be nothing more than friends with her then… that was fine, just being with her was enough.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Lucas asked

Brooke shook her head "I told Rachel I wouldn't be long, she wanted some advice with what to wear for her date with Josh" Brooke laughed, not knowing why she had just lied but comfortable with having a ready excuse to leave.

"No Dean then?" Lucas asked

"Nope, she said he's not her type… something about public humiliation" Brooke smiled sarcastically turning to face Lucas.

Lucas looked away, knowing she was talking about his fight with Dean earlier today.

There was a silence as Brooke debated whether or not to bring up Dean again. "Is everything okay, Luke" Brooke asked softly

"Yeah" Lucas answered simply

"It's just your fight with Dean today…"

"The guy's a jerk"

"Half the guys at our school are jerk's but I don't see you getting into fights with them… and don't say it's all because of me because I know you Luke, starting fights that's not like you" Brooke said turning to face him "Why are you so angry?"

Lucas looked up into Brooke's eyes. He'd missed her so much, he wanted to be open with her tell her how he was feeling but opening up wasn't one of his specialties. He was good at closing off, dealing with things by himself, in his own way. He could see her eyes, pleading with him to just talk to him, confide in her. It was all fair and good him telling her he loved her and wanted to be there for her but being in a relationship loving someone, is letting them love you back, letting them be there for you too.

"This whole Dan thing…" Lucas began "The writing on the wall… it's just. You saw it, didn't you?" Lucas asked

Brooke shifted on the spot uncomfortably "Erm… yeh I did"

"And what did you think?"

Brooke looked away, uneasy with the topic. She could tell that Lucas was edging towards something, by the way that he was talking, asking her questions as if to justify his own thoughts "I don't know what to think" Brooke shrugged simply

Lucas nodded as if to process his thoughts before speaking "This is probably going to sound crazy but part of me feels like I don't… that I can't believe that Jimmy killed Keith"

Brooke took a deep breath, turning to face Lucas

"I know that he did, I know that it couldn't have been anyone else, it just knowing that doesn't stop me from thinking, hoping that it's not true" Lucas spoke looking Brooke in the eyes, hoping for an answer or an explanation.

Brooke could feel her heart beating faster; she wanted to tell Lucas that he was right, that he wasn't crazy and that Jimmy didn't kill Keith. After all it wasn't fair to any of them not knowing the truth, it wasn't fair to Jimmy's memory but she knew she couldn't. She couldn't be the one to tell him, it would destroy him. She had seen how angry he was when he had an ounce of doubt about Keith's real murderer… what would he be like when he knew it was Dan, when he knew the truth. "Lucas I…" Brooke began already stuttering "If you think Jimmy didn't kill Keith then maybe… I think… If wasn't Jimmy then who else do you think it was?" Brooke asked

Lucas looked at her, the answer on the edge of his tongue but he couldn't say it. It was too dangerous to think that way. The last thing he wanted to do was to go back to that place of disbelief, hurt and anger. Jimmy had killed Keith whether he wanted to believe it or not and that was something he was going to have to live with "It was Jimmy, I didn't want it to be, I never really wanted to believe he could to that but he did" Lucas said clearly convincing himself.

Brooke watched him, she could see his trail of thought; how he processed and ever so cautiously separated what he was thinking from what he was feeling. She had gotten used to watching him, identifying those moments when he chose not to say something, when he decided that he would appear to vulnerable if he said something. She could see it now, only this time he was trying, he was trying really hard to be open and talk to her; it was just that Keith's death… everything surrounding Keith's death was still too painful to talk about especially after Friday.

"I guess when I stopped being angry at Jimmy, I needed someone else to blame, someone else to be angry at for taking Keith away and… well, what happened on Friday gave me that" Lucas continued clearly still unsettled by everything "It just doesn't make any sense Brooke" Lucas said getting agitated and angry again "I just don't know how I can be so angry about something… something that everyone seems to be so damn fine with"

It broke Brooke's heart having to see him like this; so torn between the truth and a lie he so clearly didn't believe a lie which heart could never accept. "I know" Brooke nodded sadly, reaching out to hug him, as he pulled her closer "I know you are, but its okay. Remember when I told you everyone will heal eventually… well they will… it'll just take some people longer than others; it doesn't mean it won't happen. It hasn't even been a year Luke" Brooke spoke softly in his ear.

Brooke could feel Lucas nod; as he slowly caressed her back "You're not always going to be angry and if you are well… I'm sure Dean's face can take a few for the team" Brooke giggled as Lucas laughed too. Brooke pulled out of the hug to see Lucas smile.

His smile always made her hopeful, hopeful that one day everything would be alright, that everyone would heal.

"I heard you hit him, like twice" Brooke smiled, playfully

"Twice… it was at least three times" Lucas smiled back, pretending to be offended.

Brooke laughed. She had to admit that although she still thought it was a stupid thing to do, it was kinda cute him defending her honour like that.

"So, how are things with you?" Lucas asked

"Errr… fine" Brooke said flicking back her hair casually.

Lucas raised his eyebrow, unconvinced "I mean like, some of the stuff you were talking about, earlier on today…."

"What stuff" Brooke said, clearly aware of what Lucas was talking about

"Stuff about you not talking to your best friend and how things are with your parents…"

"Well, things with my best friend or shall I say ex-best friend are just…" Brooke looked up at him, clearly uncomfortable "Luke I don't… I mean this is weird right, me talking to you about Peyton… it's just…"

"No, its okay, I want to be here for you. I want you to be able to talk to me" Lucas smiled simply

Brooke looked at him, unsure and slightly reluctant "Well…" She began "She kinda asked me if we could be friends again"

"That's good, isn't it?" Lucas nodded

"Well not really, seeing as we ended up getting into a fight because I… well I… because it felt like, just because she's broken up with you she all of sudden wanted to be friends again. Like whatever reason, she had for breaking up with you, I mean I know that's to do with you guys, I mean I didn't ask or whatever" Brooke began rambling, before noticing and trying to bring herself back down to normal talking speed "It's just, she didn't break up with you… to be friends with me, not that I wanted her too or anything, it's just… basically… if she hadn't had broken up with you then she wouldn't have even been having that conversation with me. If that makes any sense" Brooke smiled looking at Lucas who nodded slowly.

She could see that he trying to make sense of what she had just said but she could also see him holding something back. Like she had said something that had bothered him but he didn't know how to tell her.

"Lucas…" Brooke began "What is it?" She asked

"What?"

"You have something you want to tell me"

"No…" Lucas said slowly, confirming Brooke's thoughts

"Lucas, you have that look"

"What look?"

"That look you do when you have something you want to say but you're not sure whether you should, that look you know, you squint your eyes, hunch your shoulders… you're doing it right now"

Lucas laughed, now aware that he was in fact doing exactly what she'd just said. "I just don't think it's my place, I mean it doesn't even really matter"

"Yes it does, now come on tell me" Brooke insisted "Lucas…"

"Well, you kept saying Peyton broke up with me but… I broke up with Peyton. I mean it doesn't even matter I guess I just…"

"No it does" Brooke said, slightly taken aback. Of course it was a possibility but it hadn't actually entered her mind. She had never really considered that Lucas had broken up with Peyton. She looked at him, wanting to ask why, but afraid of his answer.

There was a silence as both Lucas and Brooke stared ahead. She wanted to ask him why and he wanted to tell her but neither of them said anything, just sitting there comforted by the each other's presence, until Lucas broke the silence.

"What about your parents?" Lucas asked wearily, he knew it was a touchy subject and he didn't want to push her to talk about them, if she wasn't ready.

"What about them?" Brooke asked, the bitterness apparent in her voice

"You said you haven't spoken to them in a while"

Brooke nodded slowly "Yeah, I guess they find it easier to send me money than actually talk to me"

"Brooke…" Lucas said, turning to face her fully.

"I don't miss them or whatever" Brooke lied "It would just be nice to know that they actually cared" Brooke turned to look at Lucas briefly before looking away again "I mean… they didn't even call me on my birthday" Brooke's whispered, her voice breaking, as she tried to hold back the tears. She hated how much it upset her, I mean her parents were the ones who left her, she shouldn't have cared anymore but she did, she still did.

Lucas looked over at her. In that moment she looked so helpless, so hurt and vulnerable completely different to the head-strong Brooke Davis who acted like she wasn't fazed by anyone. Lucas however knew better, this was the Brooke that he knew, the Brooke that gave her heart so fully and completely to others, hoping for love in return.

He hated her parents for deserting her, for hurting the way they did, but even more so, he hated himself for not being there for her every time that she'd been upset and every time that she'd cried.

Lucas reached out to hug her. At first he thought she'd resist but instead she folded into him as he pulled her closer, leaning back as she rest her head on his chest. He sat there holding her, thinking of all the times that she'd cried and he hadn't been there to hold her, to protect her.

Brooke felt tears roll down her cheek. She hadn't wanted to cry, to be vulnerable, she didn't want to be upset about her parents but she was. She was here in Lucas's room, the guy she'd spent endless night crying about; talking about her parents. And even though she probably should have felt, embarrassed and unsure she felt safer than she had felt in a long time. There so perfectly in his arms, she felt safe and loved.

Brooke listened to his heart beat. It was slow, calm unlike hers which felt like it was beating at a thousand beats a minute. She lay there listening to his heart beat as hers slowly returned to normal. It felt nice thinking of their hearts beating together. Brooke smiled to herself, as Lucas stroked her hair, she didn't have to look at him to tell he was smiling too.

Brooke slowly sat up, brushing her hair behind her ears. Lucas sat up too, smiling sadly at her as he reached out to her cheek wiping her tear. Brooke looked down as he did so, until she felt him ever so slightly lift her chin as her eyes met his. She could feel her heart start to beat a little faster, alarm bells going off in her head.

Brooke stood up suddenly, pulling on the sleeves of her top nervously. "Luke, I should really be going" She said trying to regain some control of the situation.

Lucas stood up too, wishing she would just stay "Brooke…" Lucas began but Brooke shook her head avidly, even hearing him say her name was making her melt inside.

Brooke walked towards the door, her hand on the handle. She wanted to turn it, she knew she should turn it and run out of his room, away from him and his eyes, his smile… his touch.

"Brooke don't go" Lucas said breaking Brooke's thoughts.

Brooke took a deep breath in, tilting her head back in relief. Although she didn't want to admit; she had felt relieved hearing Lucas call her name. She wanted him to stop her, she wanted to stay. Brooke stood there, with her back to him knowing that she shouldn't turn around. She couldn't turn around and look him in the eyes, look into those beautiful blue eyes and leave, she knew she couldn't.

"Brooke…" Lucas whispered again, as if to dare her to stay, to turn around.

"Lucas, I've got to go" Brooke said turning around; her actions clearly going against what she was saying, but that was all Lucas needed. She might have been saying she was leaving, but she hadn't. She was still here because in her heart she wanted to stay.

Lucas quickly bridged the gap between them, walking across the room towards her, not breaking eye contact for a second. He stood there only inches away from her, looking into her eyes. It was like he was looking into her soul, into heart, into her inmost desire. She could feel her hand on door handle, everything inside her told her that she could leave right then if she wanted to but, she couldn't. She didn't want to, she knew it and he knew it. She wanted him, just as badly as he wanted her. Lucas moved closer again, as if to dare her, dare her to run, dare her to kiss him.

He was close, so close she could feel his heart beating against hers as her heart beat faster and faster. Lucas stroked back her hair leaning forward, towards her. Brooke subconsciously licked her bottom lip, she hadn't noticed she done it until she caught Lucas smile ever so briefly before doing the same. She couldn't take it any longer. Brooke held her breath, as her eyes fluttered shut. She made no attempt to escape, no attempt to run away as she felt his lips crash into hers. At first their lips collided soft and gently but passion and desire got the better of them as Brooke grabbed his t-shirt tightly. She could feel him breathing harder, his heart racing. Lucas leaned further forward leading her to the wall.

As her back met the wall, she felt herself grip his t-shirt tighter just so her knees wouldn't give way. Lucas tugged on her bottom lip, seeking entrance as Brooke part her lips; his tongue begging for hers as she meet his. Brooke moaned softly as Lucas's hands left her cheeks, making his way down to the small of her back, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss. Brooke's hands found their way to the back of his neck pulling him down; her tongue battling with his as they both tried desperately to taste all of each other.

Just as they both thought they were going to pass out from lack of oxygen. Lucas stepped back, gently pulling away as Brooke fell back against the wall, trying to catch her breath; both of them panting, their sense still spinning so out of control that neither could bring themselves to say anything close to coherent.

Just then, as Brooke and Lucas tried to compose themselves, a small creek of the door caused Lucas to turn around.

"Lucas?" Karen whispered before seeing Brooke "Brooke? Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine" Lucas replied quickly, whilst subtly trying to straighten his shirt.

Karen looked slightly suspicious between the two of them as Brooke nodded frantically, praying Karen had only just woken up. Karen might have been half asleep but she wasn't stupid. "I was actually just leaving" Brooke said, reaching for the door handle again, this time successfully turning the handle.

"Brooke…" Lucas said turning to face her.

"I'm sorry" Brooke whispered, shaking her head, as she opened the door, disappearing into night.

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_So there are the two chapters… finally brucas kissed!! _

_Hope you enjoyed the brucas. I definitely felt like we were in need of some brucas loving, lol._

_Drop me a line and tell me what you think!_


	25. Discovering planet earth

_Heya everybody, Merry Christmas. _

_Gift from me to you._

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Discovering planet earth**

"Rise and shine sleepy head" Rachel beamed walking over to the mirror in their ensuite bathroom.

"Okay, why are you so happy?" Brooke murmured from under her covers.

"What? Can't a girl be happy to go to school?"

Brooke laughed, sitting up in bed "A girl yes, a slut like you… hmm not so much"

Rachel smiled, putting on her lip gloss "You're right, that's why you can tell me why you came home so late last night"

"It was hardly late" Brooke said brushing her hair behind her ears

"You were in after me, trust me that's late. Plus you're usually the first one up so I know something's wrong"

Brooke didn't respond, instead she lay back on the bed, pulling the covers over her bed "I think I'm too sick to go to school" Brooke moaned

"Okay, whatever happened; it can't be that bad"

"No, it's not bad, it definitely wasn't bad" Brooke said smiling to herself

"Alright, so spill" Rachel nodded going over to sit on her bed

"But it might not be good either"

"Okay, now I'm confused. You did something last night with someone, which definitely wasn't bad, but it might not be good either and you don't want to go into school because you might have to see that certain person…" Rachel said getting lost in her own trail of thoughts. "Ah, I've got it; you finally confessed your undying love for Peyton"

"Rachel" Brooke picked up her pillow and threw it her.

"What? All that weird sexual tension, you want Lucas, she wants Lucas when all this time…"

"Rachel!" Brooke shouted, trying to get her to be serious "Just forget it, I'd rather go to school than sit here and listen to you any longer" Brooke said getting up and going into the bathroom.

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Karen sat and the dining table, drinking a cup of coffee as she watched her son walk into the kitchen.

"Morning ma" Lucas smiled as he walked over to fridge getting out some juice.

"Morning" Karen replied.

Lucas sat down at the table opposite her avoiding eye contact.

"So Brooke came over last night" Karen began, figuring she'd have to bring it up sometime.

Lucas shuffled uncomfortably in his chair, nodding.

"Is everything alright?"

"I don't know" Lucas answered honestly

Karen nodded and retuned to her cup of tea, sensing Lucas probably didn't want to talk about whatever happened or didn't happen last night.

"Ma" Lucas asked

"Yes Lucas" Karen looked up

"Did you…" Lucas began, unsure whether or not he wanted to ask his mom about her relationship with Dan "Did you find it easy; forgiving Dan after everything he put you through?" Lucas asked.

Karen could sense where this was going "Lucas, you are nothing like Dan"

"No, I know…"

"And Dan's nothing like Dan anymore. He's changed, he's become a better farther to Nathan and to you…he's really trying"

Lucas tried to see where his mother was coming from but he just wasn't buying, not after he'd witnessed Dan shouting at Brooke that evening at Dan's house. Lucas however nodded amicably "I just… I just wanted to know, if you can ever forgive someone, you know truly forgive someone and trust them again, even though they hurt you in the past"

Karen looked at Lucas, she could feel his guilt and she wish she could make it stop but something told her that the only way he'd truly forgive himself for hurting Brooke, would be if she forgave him.

"I think that you can forgive almost anything, if you truly want to, if you truly want to move on and…" Karen said reaching out for Lucas's hand "I truly believe Brooke wants to forgive you, she wants to move on; she just needs time"

Lucas smiled thankfully, hoping his mother was right.

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As Brooke and Rachel approached their lockers, Brooke couldn't help but look around for Lucas. She had decided on three relatively good ways of handling having to see Lucas. The first was to pretend the whole thing never happened, smile blissfully and go about her business. The second was to find Lucas and talk to him and the third; was to ignore him like the plague.

After careful consideration, whilst briefly playing out each scenario in her hand; Brooke decided to go with option three seeing as she wasn't under the influence of any intoxicating substance so she couldn't pretend it didn't happen and as for option two, well, talking about things was always Lucas's forte so; avoiding him like the plague seemed like the most likeliest of options at least until she could figure out what everything meant.

Just as Brooke thought she had all the worries she could get, Mouth showed up sending her into the unwanted realisation that she still the whole mess with Dan to think about.

"Hi Brooke, Rachel" Mouth smiled at the both of them.

"Hey Mouth" Rachel and Brooke replied.

"So…" Mouth began, gesturing at Brooke "Have either of you got history next?"

Brooke could see what Mouth was implying but honestly did not feel like talking about Dan this morning "Erm… no" Brooke said shaking her head

"So why are you getting out your history books then?" Mouth asked pointing at the books Brooke was taking out of her locker.

Brooke looked from Mouth to Rachel who was giving Brooke, her infamous "you weirdo" look.

"Erm… well" Brooke thought as she glanced down the hall only to see Lucas. "Yeah you're right Mouth. Let's go" She said, quickly shutting her locker, linking arms with Mouth and walking down the hall in the opposite direction.

"So…" Brooke began as her and Mouth walked down the hall "You had something to tell me, good news no doubt" Brooke said not trying to hide her sarcasm.

Mouth understood, the whole thing was getting out of hand, he never meant to get Brooke so involved, not to the point where Dan actually thought it was all her. "Look I'm sorry Brooke, I hate that the only thing we seem to talk about is this, it's just… your cell phone"

"Yeah"

"We have to get it back. Dan has it; he could do anything with it"

"Like what, make long distance phone calls" Brooke said trying to make light of the situation.

"No, I mean like give it to the police or something. As proof that we broke in" Mouth said, trying to be quiet, so as not to draw any attention to them.

"Well that's hardly any proof Mouth. I went to his party and left it there"

"Yeah, the party where… you know what happened. And plus, if they read the messages I sent you…"

"So this is about you. Covering your back" Brooke began to raise her voice

"No Brooke, it's not like that I swear" Mouth said, trying to lower the volume of their conversation.

"Really? Tell me Mouth, if I had none of your incriminating messages on my cell would you be so keen for us to break into Dan's house AGAIN" Brooke's voice was dangerously loud and people hard started staring. Mouth noticed, smiling nervously as he pulled Brooke into the nearest classroom.

"Brooke you know it's not like that. Despite everything I am your friend, first and foremost and I'd never…" Mouth began genuinely as Brooke cut him off.

"I know, I know" She said tiredly as she sat down on the nearest desk. "I'm just a mess recently. One minute I'm mad at you, the next I'm mad at…"

"Lucas?" Mouth asked only to see Brooke look away at the sound of Lucas's name. "How are things between the two of you?"

Brooke fiddled with her hair, debating whether not to say anything, she wasn't quite sure whether she felt like talking about it. "I… we… something happened last night?"

"Something good or something bad?" Mouth asked

"I think good, I mean… it felt good" Brooke said quietly almost blushing.

"So why are you avoiding him?" Mouth asked slightly confused

"I'm not avoiding him"

Mouth just looked at her "Please, you couldn't have wanted to get out of there faster when you saw Lucas coming down the hall"

"You saw that?" Brooke asked

"Yeah, it wasn't exactly subtle"

Brooke shrugged her shoulders not knowing what to say.

"Brooke, Lucas is a good guy, his hearts in the right place. You know there is a difference between good people who do bad things and bad people who do bad things"

"I know it's just I just can't talk to him right now"

"Because you don't know what to say…?"

"Because I'm afraid I'll get nervous, of feel vulnerable and come out saying something really bitchy just to cover it up"

Mouth could see where she was coming from Brooke did have a tendency to come out with "slightly offensive" things to hide her own fears and insecurities.

"And don't even get me started about what I think of Dan" Brooke sighed

"What do you think?" Mouth asked eager to sort this thing out

"I don't know, I don't want to talk about it now"

"Come on, you can talk to me" Mouth persisted "What is it?"

"Yes Miss Davis, what is it?" A voice from the front of the classroom asked.

Brooke and Mouth turned instantly to see who it was.

"Dan?" Brooke said incomplete shock. "What the…"

"You two were so engrossed in your adolescent problems that neither of you bothered to check whether this classroom was actually free"

"What are you doing here?" Mouth asked

"Nice of you to join the conversation Mr McFadden but if you wouldn't mind stepping outside, I need talk to Miss Davis"

Brooke grabbed Mouth's arm instantly. Mouth looked up at Brooke, the fear apparent in her eyes.

"Well Brooke and I have history together so I'll just wait here for her"

Dan had noticed Brooke's not so subtle reach for Mouth's hand. "Very well, I was just going to remind Brooke that despite her being a true supporter of my political campaign, she doesn't have to go around advertising my commitment to my responsibilities as the mayor. That's what the commercials are for" Dan smirked.

"What?" Mouth asked

"Just now… Brooke said she had something to tell you about me… all good things I'm sure" Dan spoke, the sarcasm dripping from his every word.

Now even Mouth wasn't getting creeped out by him "Erm, we really need to go" Mouth said, smiling politely before leading Brooke out the room and walking as far away as possible from Dan as they could.

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Brooke sat in class, trying hard to keep her heart beating at a normal pace. She had already excused herself to the bathroom twice in one lesson and both times the teacher, Mrs Harper had whined saying "You've just had your lunch break Penelope Davis, I'm sure if you hadn't spent most of your time gossiping with you're cheerleading friends then you'd have had time to go to the lavatory"

Okay, first off all who says lavatory anymore, it's like the 21st century, the last time the word lavatory was used Brooke could have sworn was amongst the early days of discovering planet earth, and secondly her name was Brooke not Penelope… Brooke. Why was it that every teacher apart from Mrs Harper managed to get her name right? Brooke was sure it had something to do with the fact that she was like a hundred years old and still trying to teach sex ed.

Brooke was slightly grateful for having something else other to think about other than Dan, even if it was how annoying Mrs Harper could be. Just as Brooke was beginning to relax there was a knock at the classroom door.

Mrs Harper walked over to open the door "Ah yes, I nearly forgot, hello Mr Mayor"

Brooke's head shot up. _You have got to be kidding me!_

"Class, Mr Scott has come to talk to us about inspiration and determination, he…"

Brooke couldn't focus on what Mrs Harper was saying; all she could see was Dan staring at her. It was beginning to get really hot in the classroom. Was she imagining it, or was Dan just staring at her. Brooke looked back at Mouth who had the same worried expression on his face. She had to get out of there, she felt like she couldn't breath.

"Mrs Harper" Brooke interrupted, standing up "I've got to…"

"Let me guess, you've got to go to the lavatory AGAIN. Well I'm sorry not this…"

"No" Brooke interrupted rather harshly but at this point she couldn't concentrate on being polite, all she could think about was breathing and how hot it was in that room. "I've got to go to the gym… the locker room... to get my asthma pump"

"You have asthma?" Quite a few heads turned, people looked rather surprised at the revelation that the head of the cheerleaders had asthma, even Dan looked surprised but in the way the others did, as if he was rather impressed by her on the spot lie.

"I do now" Brooke muttered to herself.

"Okay" Mrs Harper nodded, although she might not have been completely convinced that Brooke had asthma, Mrs Harper had to admit that Brooke did look rather pale "As long as you're…"

Brooke didn't wait to hear the rest of Mrs Harper's sentence; instead she walked out of the classroom as fast as she could.

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Lucas had been in French for nearly half an hour and yet he hadn't even opened his text book.

"Pretty scintillating cover huh" Haley smiled as she turned, leaning over to talk to him.

"What?" Lucas asked totally out of it.

"The cover of the book you haven't opened for the last thirty minutes"

"Oh yeah" Lucas nodded briefly

"Okay, what happened?" Haley asked, crossing her arms

Lucas looked up at Haley contemplating whether or not he felt like talking about everything, I mean it was alright in his mind where no one could call him on the stupid things he'd done but this was Haley and he didn't know whether he was ready to her "honest truth".

"I kissed Brooke" Lucas said, waiting for the shock or "you shouldn't have's"

"Hmm, okay"

"What you're not surprised?" Lucas asked a little surprised by her calm reaction.

"I am surprised that you, who is clearly still in love with her would actually do something about it and kiss her? No. But am I surprised that upon such a long awaited event you would be sitting her looking really sad then… yes. Yes I am surprised"

"I'm just worried I screwed up things" Lucas said honestly

"I don't get it?" Haley asked

"I'm scared I might have pushed her away, you know? It's just we were doing so well being friends and I was just happy to be around her, talk to her the way we used and now, now because of last night she might not even want to be my friend" Lucas spoke really fast

"Okay, slow down Lucas. What happened last night after you kissed her. Did she back away…?"

"Well no, she kissed me back" Lucas replied

"So then what's the problem" Haley asked slightly confused.

Lucas sighed "Dan said she regretted it"

"What? Wait, how does Dan now how she feels?"

"He's in school today making a speech about inspiration and determination or something like that and he said, he over heard Brooke talking to Mouth this morning. He said she regretted it" Lucas said sadly.

"So Dan came and spoke to you about how Brooke felt about kissing you" Haley asked a little unconvinced by the whole situation.

"No" Lucas laughed a little "He told Nathan and Nathan told me"

"Why would he talk to Nathan about that?"

"I don't know. Him and Nathan are close" Lucas shrugged

"Yeah but it's still weird"

"He told Nathan not to say anything to me"

"Yeah but he had to know that Nathan would" Haley said, building her own conspiracy theory.

Ever since that evening at Dan's house, Haley had struggled to have the same blind faith in Dan that Nathan had. She had so badly wanted to believe in Dan as this newly changed man, if not for herself but for Nathan but she just couldn't. Of course that being said she knew he wasn't a murderer, she just didn't believe his sincerity about most, if not all things.

"Whatever, Brooke still regrets what happened and is clearly trying to avoid me" Lucas sighed

"Hey Luke" Haley said

"Yep"

"Is that your cell vibrating?" She said a little too loudly as the teacher looked up.

Lucas smiled apologetically at the teacher as he tried to check his text discretely.

"It's from Brooke" Lucas whispered to Haley.

"Well, what does it say?"

Lucas opened the text.

_Meet me in the locker rooms. We really need to talk. _

"I've got to go" Lucas said to Haley. "Erm Mr Peterson" Lucas said raising his hand

"Just be quick" Mr Peterson mumbled without even lifting his head.

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Brooke sat down on the bench in the locker rooms. She didn't even know why she'd come here, she didn't really have asthma. I guess no one would find her here. The guys didn't have practice and the girls didn't have cheerleading so she was safe for another hour or so, or however long it would take Dan to give his speech on inspiration.

Brooke tried not to think about Dan and how often she was running into him but the more she tried to stop thinking about it, the more anxious it made her that she couldn't. It was starting to get hot again. Brooke stood up, pacing around a little. Know that she'd come to think of it, she hadn't had any to eat for breakfast or lunch. It had just been one thing after the other. Brooke opened her locker, looking for a bottle of water but she couldn't find one. Frustrated she slammed her locker angrily. _God, why was everything such a mess._

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Lucas walked into the girl's locker room, he had thought of two possible ways in which this whole thing could play out. One, Brooke could be nice and kindly tell him that what happened last night was a mistake, a mistake they should both try and forget or two; she could be mean, tell him it's best they don't talk to one another and that being friends is obviously impossible as he couldn't be trusted not to stick his tongue down her throat. Either way… Lucas would lose, but that wouldn't stop him not anymore.

If you want something, you have to fight for it and he wanted Brooke, he wanted to be with her, hold her, kiss her. He wanted to be her shoulder to cry on and the one person she could rely on. He wanted to be the guy of her dreams and if that meant waiting until she was ready to trust him, believe in him and their love then he could wait.

As Lucas walked into the locker room, he was surprised to see Brooke sitting on the floor, curled up in a ball.

"Brooke"

Brooke looked up instantly. _Oh my god, what's he doing here? _Brooke stood up quickly wiping the tears off her cheek.

"Lucas, what are you doing here?" Brooke asked, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying.

"Brooke you're upset"

"Lucas you can't be here right now, please just go" Brooke pleaded. He couldn't be here right now, not when she was like this. She was barely keeping it together. She needed to think, clear her head, calm down and that wasn't possible when he was standing there looking at her with those beautiful blue eyes.

Lucas looked at Brooke, her eyes were puffy and she was fiddling anxiously with her hands. Something was wrong, he didn't know what but Brooke was usually so together, in control but now she looked scared, unsure. "Brooke, I'm not leaving you, not when you're like this" Lucas said stepping towards her.

Brooke titled her head back, any closer and she was going to start crying again.

"Brooke?" Lucas began softly

Brooke looked down, trying to avoid meeting those blue eyes. She couldn't look at him and lie to him again.

Lucas placed two fingers under her chin, gently lifting her head. "Brooke talk to me" Lucas tried.

"I can't" Brooke said, shaking her head, trying to fight back the tears "I want to but I can't… I just can't Lucas"

Lucas looked her, worried and confused. He couldn't protect her if he didn't know what was wrong, but he didn't want to force her to talk about something she didn't want to; especially when she was upset. Lucas nodded, trying to understand as he brushed her hair behind her ear, pulling her into a hug.

He felt Brooke tense up at first but then relax as she rested her head against his chest. She felt safe in his arms, and even though she knew that he couldn't protect her from Dan, in that moment it felt like no matter what, in spite of everything, there in his arms she'd be safe, they'd both be safe.

Brooke closed her eyes, trying to remember the last time she'd felt safe.

"Brooke…" Lucas began breaking Brooke's thoughts as she stepped out of the hug. "What are you so scared of?" He asked, brushing her hair from her face.

Brooke felt her heart melt as he touched her, as he asked her the question he long deserved to know the answer to. She wanted to tell him, she wanted him to tell her that everything was going to be alright and that they'd get through it, together. But he couldn't do that unless she told him, unless he knew the truth.

"It's about… Dan" Brooke struggled to say as she saw Lucas's eyes widen

"Is that what you wanted to talk about in your text?" Lucas asked slightly confused

"What text?" Brooke asked

"The text you sent me, that's why I came here, you asked me to meet you here so we could talk"

"No I didn't, I don't have my cell. I left it at…" Suddenly Brooke realised "Oh my god" She whispered.

"What Brooke? What's wrong?"

"Oh my god, he knows" Brooke began panicking, looking for her bag.

"Brooke, what's wrong? What are you looking for?"

"My bag, I need to go, I need to find my…" Brooke stuttered, until she remembered "I didn't bring my bag, oh no, I left in class with…him" Brooke spat, the hatred apparent on her last word.

"Wait, what has any of this got to do with Dan?" Lucas asked trying to put together the fragments of information Brooke had just attempted to give him. "Is this because he told me you regret what happened last night?"

"What?" Brooke spun round to face Lucas "How does he know what happ… did you talk to him about it?" Brooke asked, not sure who she was more shocked at, Lucas or Dan.

"No, no of course I didn't I wou…"

"Then how does he know?" Brooke asked, struggling to work out how Dan was masterminding and controlling every situation.

"He over heard you tell Mouth you regretted it, and told Nathan about it, but he told Nathan not to tell me"

Brooke was absolutely and completely stunned. Dan had managed to manipulate everything. He'd wormed his way into their school, he'd lied to Lucas indirectly, saying she had regretted last night when she had said nothing of the sort and he'd used her cell to get Lucas here, in the locker rooms where Dan knew she'd be, just to spite her; when he heard her tell Mouth she wanted to avoid him. The more Brooke thought about it, the more she thought that there had to be another reason why Dan had gone to all this trouble, a reason which she couldn't figure out, not at this very moment.

"Lucas, listen to me, I never said that and I don't have my cell, I didn't text you. Do you get what's happened?" Brooke asked, hoping he'd understood and managed to put the pieces together himself.

"No, I don't Brooke. You're going to have to give me a little more to go on here. What does this have to do with Dan?" Lucas asked frustrated, he wanted to understand, he wanted to help but for the life of him, he just couldn't see a connection between these series of events.

"Everything Lucas, everything… it all has to do with Dan…"

"Well as the mayor" Dan spoke calmly but clearly "I'd have to agree with you Miss Davis…"

Brooke spun around to see none another than Dan, standing by the lockers looking awfully smug with himself. Brooke mentally kicked herself for allowing him to catch her talking about him for the second time that day and wondered how long he had been standing there.

"As flattered as I am that you seem more than keen to converse about me…" Dan continued "I highly doubt now is the time for you and Lucas to discuss my scrupulous responsibilities as the mayor. Mrs Harper was getting awfully worried about you Miss Davis, you went off to get an… asthma pump was it, and never came back so I reassured her, by offering to go and make sure you were alright. Had I known you and Lucas were making up for lost time I would not have worried" Dan spoke slowly giving his infamous evil smirk.

"That's you all over Dan, Mr Selfless Do-Gooder" Lucas smirked, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"You might not care what I think Lucas, but I'm sure you care what you're mother thinks and I'm positive she would not be happy to hear you were skipping class to do whatever is was you were doing here with Miss Davis"

Lucas frowned.

"I'd get back to class, if I were you Lucas… now" Dan said, sternly but not to forcefully knowing not to push his luck with Lucas, considering the last confrontation they'd had.

Lucas looked over at Brooke, who was staring angrily at Dan. In that moment she looked like she hated his guts just as much as he did. Lucas reluctantly did as his father had said, walking towards the door.

"Hurry to class Lucas, I need to have a word with Miss Davis here about her work" Dan smiled.

Lucas just rolled his eyes at Dan before looking at Brooke, to check if she was alright.

Brooke could feel Dan looking at her. What was she supposed to do, what was she supposed to say_ 'Stay Lucas, your dad killed your uncle and I'm afraid he'll do the same to me'_. Brooke just smiled and nodded.

Lucas smiled sadly at Brooke before hurrying to class. He wished they could have finished their conversation, he knew something was wrong, he just didn't know what it was.

"About your work Miss Davis…" Dan began as soon as Lucas had left.

"You're not my teacher, so leave me alone" Brooke spat angrily.

"Listen to me, little girl. I'm getting a little tired of you and your pathetic cries for attention. Keep your nose out of things that do not concern you" Dan said bitterly.

"You mean like my cell. How dare you text Lucas from my phone and lie about something that had nothing to do with you" Brooke said, trying to keep a discrete volume. "Don't ever do that again okay. Just leave me alone" She spat, walking past Dan.

As soon as she stepped past, Dan reached out for her arm, grabbing it and pulling her in front of him. Brooke was so taken aback by his sudden harshness; she didn't even have time to scream "Just remember whose holding all the cards, little girl. You make my life hell and two can play that game. Stay out of things you know nothing about"

Brooke could feel her heart racing; his fingers were digging into her arm. Brooke winced trying to wriggle free but he only tightened his grip. Her thoughts were cast back to that night in the car and the evening at his house. She had never felt as much hatred for one person as she did now. She could feel the hatred boiling inside her, giving her a courage or stupidity she didn't recognise "I do know what happened" Brooke whispered, trying to gain momentum "You killed Keith. You shot him and you watched him die. And I'm going to tell Karen and Lucas. I'll tell them how you murdered your own brother" A tear rolled down her cheek, as hatred spewed from her every word.

For once, Dan was speechless. He didn't know what to say or what to do. Brooke noticed this and made the mistake of relaxing a little, as she became slightly more confident, trying to wriggle free. Dan seized that moment of weakness and grabbed her face, digging his fingers into her cheeks. "You shut up, you shut up now!" Dan shouted completely losing control as he spun her round pinning her against the locker.

The lockers crashed with Brooke's back, causing her legs to give way but as they did Dan held her up, pinning her against the locker. Brooke was shaking, tears streaming down her face. If he'd ever thought before that Brooke was fearless he had thought wrong. It had become survival of the fittest and right now the only person jeopardising his chances of survival was Brooke Davis.

"Hey!" A voice shouted "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Dan let go of Brooke instantly causing her to fall to the floor. Dan didn't turn around, instead he paused for a moment trying to match the voice he'd just heard to any familiar face but, he couldn't. Dan frantically ran his hands through his hair, trying to come up with a "logical" explanation for what this witness may have just seen.

Dan turned around slowly. In front of him stood a familiar scrawny blonde;

Peyton Sawyer.

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_Sorry about the HUGMUNGOUS delay. Things have been so hectic._

_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Special thanks to __**redfeather1988 **__(Thank you for your long reviews, I glad you really like the story and I agree, it definitely would be nice to reach 100 reviews, wink wink, lol) and __**stefybboh**__ (Thanks for your comment, I'm really glad you like the story. I try my best to maintain the reality when I'm not having Dan pin Brooke against the lockers, lol)_

_Tis the season to be jolly so… despite my not so jolly chapter…_

_Click review and tell me what you think :-)_


	26. Three hours and forty seven minutes

Hi everyone,

Sorry about the enormous delay. It is official, the time gaps between my updates is practically eternity.

I've included a little _previously on_ seeing how it has been a while (complete understatement, I know) since I have updated.

A huge shout out to **Brucas2006**!! Thanks so much for having faith in the story and thanks for all your messages, I would have totally kept putting it off if it weren't for your messages. Thanks hun!

Without further ado...

**Previously on **_**A Series Of Tragic Events**_

_Brooke fiddled with her hair, debating whether or not to say anything, she wasn't quite sure whether she felt like talking about it. "I… we… something happened last night?"_

"_Something good or something bad?" Mouth asked_

"_I think good, I mean… it felt good" Brooke said quietly almost blushing._

"_So why are you avoiding him?" Mouth asked slightly confused_

"_I'm not avoiding him"_

_Mouth just looked at her "Please, you couldn't have wanted to get out of there faster when you saw Lucas coming down the hall"_

"_You saw that?" Brooke asked_

"_Yeah, it wasn't exactly subtle"_

_Brooke shrugged her shoulders not knowing what to say._

"_Brooke, Lucas is a good guy, his hearts in the right place. You know there is a difference between good people who do bad things and bad people who do bad things"_

"_I know it's just I just can't talk to him right now"_

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

"_Class, Mr Scott has come to talk to us about inspiration and determination, he…"_

_Brooke couldn't focus on what Mrs Harper was saying; all she could see was Dan staring at her. It was beginning to get really hot in the classroom. Was she imagining it, or was Dan just staring at her. Brooke looked back at Mouth who had the same worried expression on his face. She had to get out of there, she felt like she couldn't breath._

"_Mrs Harper" Brooke interrupted, standing up "I've got to…"_

"_Let me guess, you've got to go to the lavatory AGAIN. Well I'm sorry not this…"_

"_No" Brooke interrupted rather harshly but at this point she couldn't concentrate on being polite, all she could think about was breathing and how hot it was in that room. "I've got to go to the gym… the locker room... to get my asthma pump"_

"_You have asthma?" Quite a few heads turned; people looked rather surprised at the revelation that the captain of the cheerleaders had asthma, even Dan looked surprised but not in the way the others did, as if he was rather impressed by her on the spot lie._

"_I do now" Brooke muttered to herself._

"_Okay" Mrs Harper nodded, although she might not have been completely convinced that Brooke had asthma, Mrs Harper had to admit that Brooke did look rather pale "As long as you're…"_

_Brooke didn't wait to hear the rest of Mrs Harper's sentence; instead she walked out of the classroom as fast as she could._

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

"_Okay, slow down Lucas. What happened last night after you kissed her. Did she back away…?"_

"_Well no, she kissed me back" Lucas replied_

"_So then what's the problem" Haley asked slightly confused._

_Lucas sighed "Dan said she regretted it"_

"_What? Wait, how does Dan now how she feels?"_

"_He's in school today making a speech about inspiration and determination or something like that and he said, he over heard Brooke talking to Mouth this morning. He said she regretted it" Lucas said sadly._

"_So Dan came and spoke to you about how Brooke felt about kissing you" Haley asked a little unconvinced by the whole situation._

"_No" Lucas laughed a little "He told Nathan and Nathan told me"_

_**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

"_Is that your cell vibrating?" She said a little too loudly as the teacher looked up._

_Lucas smiled apologetically at the teacher as he tried to check his text discretely._

"_It's from Brooke" Lucas whispered to Haley._

"_Well, what does it say?"_

_Lucas opened the text._

_Meet me in the locker rooms. We really need to talk._

"_I've got to go" Lucas said to Haley. "Erm Mr Peterson" Lucas said raising his hand_

"_Just be quick" Mr Peterson mumbled without even lifting his head._

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Brooke was absolutely and completely stunned. Dan had managed to manipulate everything. He'd wormed his way into their school, he'd lied to Lucas indirectly, saying she had regretted last night when she had said nothing of the sort and he'd used her cell to get Lucas here, in the locker rooms where Dan knew she'd be, just to spite her; when he heard her tell Mouth she wanted to avoid him. The more Brooke thought about it, the more she thought that there had to be another reason why Dan had gone to all this trouble, a reason which she couldn't figure out, not at this very moment._

"_Lucas, listen to me, I never said that and I don't have my cell, I didn't text you. Do you get what's happened?" Brooke asked, hoping he'd understood and managed to put the pieces together himself._

"_No, I don't Brooke. You're going to have to give me a little more to go on here. What does this have to do with Dan?" Lucas asked frustrated, he wanted to understand, he wanted to help but for the life of him, he just couldn't see a connection between these series of events._

"_Everything Lucas, everything… it all has to do with Dan…"_

"_Well as the mayor…" Dan spoke calmly but clearly "I'd have to agree with you Miss Davis…"_

_Brooke spun around to see none another than Dan, standing by the lockers looking awfully smug with himself. Brooke mentally kicked herself for allowing him to catch her talking about him for the second time that day and wondered how long he had been standing there._

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"_I do know what happened" Brooke whispered, trying to gain momentum "You killed Keith. You shot him and you watched him die. And I'm going to tell Karen and Lucas. I'll tell them how you murdered your own brother" A tear rolled down her cheek, as hatred spewed from her every word._

_For once, Dan was speechless. He didn't know what to say or what to do. Brooke noticed this and made the mistake of relaxing a little, as she became slightly more confident, trying to wriggle free. Dan seized that moment of weakness and grabbed her face, digging his fingers into her cheeks. "You shut up, you shut up now!" Dan shouted completely losing control as he spun her round pinning her against the locker._

_The lockers crashed with Brooke's back, causing her legs to give way but as they did Dan held her up, pinning her against the locker. Brooke was shaking, tears streaming down her face. If he'd ever thought before that Brooke was fearless he had thought wrong. It had become a survival of the fittest and right now the only person jeopardising his chances of survival was Brooke Davis._

"_Hey!" A voice shouted "What the hell do you think you're doing?"_

_Dan let go of Brooke instantly causing her to fall to the floor. Dan didn't turn around, instead he paused for a moment trying to match the voice he'd just heard to any familiar face but, he couldn't. Dan frantically ran his hands through his hair, trying to come up with a "logical" explanation for what this witness may have just seen._

_Dan turned around slowly. In front of him stood a familiar scrawny blonde;_

_Peyton Sawyer._

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**Chapter Twenty-Six: Three hours and forty seven minutes**

Mouth sighed with relief as the bell for the end of fifth period went. A double lesson with Mrs Harper anytime of the week was bad enough but last period on a Friday was just torture. Not to mention their special guest speaker Mr. Mayor Scott.

Mouth walked over to Brooke's desk. She hadn't retuned since she had left earlier that lesson in search of an imaginary asthma pump. Mouth glanced over to the front of the classroom to see Mrs Harper and Dan laughing, as she no doubt thanked him for such a moving speech.

After all this time, knowing Dan's secret, watching him lie to his colleagues, friends, family... watching him lie to everyone; Mouth was still surprised at how he managed to do it all. How he managed to go out everyday and lie without so much as flinching, without slipping up or without saying the wrong thing. Where credit was due for being the most heartless, evil, manipulative villain, Dan Scott definitely deserved it.

Mouth began collecting Brooke's things and putting them in her bag, he thought back to earlier that day when Dan had returned from, ever so kindly offering to go and check if "Miss Davis" was alright.

"_And is Penelope going to bless us with her presence anytime today then?" Mrs Harper asked as Dan walked into the classroom._

"_I'm afraid not, I couldn't seem to find her anywhere but her close friend Peyton Sawyer reassured me that her parents have picked her up and she's arrived home safely" Dan said flashing one of his infamous evil grins over at Mouth before walking back over to the front of the class. "So, where was I…"_

The entire situation was odd, from Dan being in school to Brooke not returning to class. There were three things in particular about Dan's excuse that Mouth couldn't help but question.

The first, being Dan's use of the words _"close friend" _when describing Peyton Sawyer. Sure Brooke and Peyton had been best friends for a long time but recently 'friends' or even the word 'civil' wouldn't be used to describe the relationship between the two. Secondly Brooke's parents didn't exist or at least it seemed that way, they weren't in Tree Hill and when they were they were never there for Brooke. If they couldn't come and pick her up from school the day of the school shooting, Mouth highly doubted they'd come for a mild spell of asthma.

And lastly was Dan's use of the word "_safely_". It's the way he'd said the word as if he were mocking it, as if he knew it wasn't true and could not be bothered to put on a sympathetic, reassuring tone to convince the entire class, especially Mouth.

Come to think about it, Dan's whole excuse was messy, right from the beginning. He knew Peyton and Brooke weren't friends, he'd commented on it enough and he knew Brooke had invisible parents. Why wasn't he trying to cover his tracks more cleverly? I mean, he had to have something to hide, this was Dan Scott after all; his days consisted of lies and false pretences, why should today be any different?

Mouth was disturbed from his thoughts by none other than the devil himself.

"Mr McFadden… Mouth is it?" Dan called

"It's Steve, my friends call me Mouth" Mouth replied harshly

Dan smirked, amused by Mouth's attempt to be rude "Tell Miss Davis, I hope she gets better soon" Dan grinned.

Mouth simply rolled his eyes, picked up Brooke's bag and walked out the classroom; not making any attempt to hide the fact that he didn't for a second believe Dan's fake sincerity. Instead Mouth quickly made his way to the gym hoping to catch Brooke before she started practice. He knew things had gotten a lot worse but, Dan coming into their school was a one time only thing. All he and Brooke had to do was; get back her cell phone and avoid Dan for the rest of their lives… that or tell Lucas the truth.

All Mouth wanted to do now was check that Brooke was okay and sort out a way for things to go back to normal. Mouth got out his cell phone to try and call Brooke. He had to call Rachel's house phone seeing as a certain someone had Brooke's cell.

_Ring ring. Ring ring. Ring ring._

No answer.

_She must be at practice. _Mouth thought to himself.

As Mouth entered the gym he saw all of the cheerleaders packing their gym bags. "Hey Bevin" Mouth called as he walked over to her "What's going on with practice?"

"Brooke's not in, apparently she's sick or something" Bevin said shrugging her shoulders

"Dan said that. Trust me; you can't believe a word he says. Brooke might have gone home early but she'll be back for practice, she always is" Mouth said, not quite sure who he was trying to convince himself or Bevin.

"Oh ok cool" Bevin smiled "Hey girls" Bevin said turning to face the rest of the cheerleaders "Practice is on, Brooke's on her way"

"No she's not" A voice said.

Everyone turned to face the gym doors, as Peyton walked in ever so calmly. "Has anyone seen Rachel? We must have switched gym bags by accident, I've got hers so she must have mine" Peyton said, casually as she walked across the gym.

"No she left with Josh" Theresa replied.

"Whatever" Peyton muttered turning around to leave.

"Hey Peyton wait up" Bevin called "So is practice on or off?"

"It's off. Brooke's sick… she went home early today and she's not coming back" Peyton answered apparently annoyed by the question before turning around and walking out of the gym.

"Peyton" Mouth called as he followed Peyton out of the gym and into the hall "Peyton"

"Yes Mouth" Peyton spun around clearly annoyed but then again what was new.

"Brooke never skips practice, is everything okay?"

"How should I know?" Peyton shrugged defensively.

"You just said she was sick"

"Look Mouth I've got to g…"

"Wait Peyton" Mouth interrupted "I know that you and Brooke aren't exactly friends right now..."

Peyton laughed bitterly.

"But…" Mouth continued "I'm worried about her. She left class early today and she didn't even come back for any or her stuff, don't you think that's a little odd"

Peyton played with her hands uncomfortably "Well have you tried calling her?"

"Yeh and she won't answer"

"I don't know what you expect me to do Mouth?" Peyton said placing her hands on her hips

"I don't know… I... maybe..."

"You know what I do know and I think that I should leave you to sort out whatever melodrama Brooke has whipped up this week, because I'm pretty sure she wouldn't want my help anyway" Peyton spat and with that she turned around walked out the school.

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"Mmmm" Rachel moaned softly, as Josh wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck.

Rachel fumbled with her house keys, trying to get her keys in the door lock and open the door.

"Any slower" Josh whispered, caressing Rachel's lower back.

"Calm down tiger, I'm trying but it would be a lot easier without you all over me"

Josh raised his eyebrow, amused by the sheer suggestion that she wasn't enjoying every second of Josh's "smooth" version of foreplay.

"I get it" Josh smirked, stepping back and gesturing for Rachel to open the door without his seductive distractions.

"Thank you" Rachel smiled sarcastically as she attempted to open the door again. "Okay…" Rachel huffed, running her hands through her hair. "The key isn't working"

"The key isn't working?"

"That's what I said genius, the key isn't working"

"Let me try" Josh said, placing his hand out, only for Rachel to ever so reluctantly hand over the key. Josh brushed passed Rachel trying adamantly to turn the key.

"It's like jammed" Josh said as he continued to struggle with the key getting more and more impatient.

Rachel leaned back against the wall laughing at Josh's apparent growing frustration "I know I'm hot baby, but chill" Rachel smiled

"Shut up" Josh laughed "We can just…" Josh began, gesturing over to his car.

"Nope. No way. No bed, no sex"

"As if we would have made it upstairs anyway" Josh smirked still trying to turn the key

"Well aren't you confident. I don't care what you say, no bed no sex. I'm not doing it the back of your car again, it stinks and…"

"You idiot" Josh interrupted

"Like calling me names is going to get me in the mood"

"No" Josh laughed, gesturing at the door which was now open "Look, the door wasn't even locked" He said, simply turning the handle and opening the door.

"Oh" Rachel burst out laughing, followed by Josh "Like you're any smarter" Rachel said hitting Josh on the shoulder "You were about ready to knock the damn thing down"

"Just shut up and come here" Josh smiled; pulling Rachel towards him "So you said something about a bed?" Josh smiled cheekily.

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Lucas rang the door bell to the house he always couldn't believe was home to only two girls and yet was probably the biggest house in Tree Hill. Lucas hadn't exactly thought of what he was going to say to Brooke, he hoped seeing Brooke would be inspiration enough to come out with what he so desperately wanted to tell her. After the way things had been left earlier today, Lucas felt even more unsure than he did this morning, I mean they hadn't really spoken about what the kiss meant and now there was something she was scared of, something that she wasn't telling him.

The door swung open to reveal a certain red-headed cheerleader. Both Lucas's and Rachel's expressions of disappointment mirrored one another. "Oh, it's you" Rachel said plainly.

"Nice to see you too Rachel" Lucas said sarcastically, slightly taken back by her bluntness "I was just here to see…"

"Look, if you're looking for Brooke then you're out of luck… she's not here and if you're not looking for Brooke…well then you've come to the wrong girl, Peyton might be into her best-friends sloppy seconds but I'm not so you can just…" Rachel said reaching for the door.

"Wait" Lucas said trying to process and separate the information from the catty insult. "When you see her, could you tell her that I…"

"That you're sorry? Because that's original coming from you" Rachel smiled sarcastically

"Look Rachel I don't know what you're problem is but..."

"My problem? That's funny because from where I'm standing it seems like you're the one with the problem… the whole good guy verses bad guy complex. When are you going to get it Lucas, you can't be the guy of her dreams and the guy who cheats on her with her best friend... the two don't go together, they just don't"

"Your right, I screwed up…"

"Twice"

Lucas sighed "Twice but I'm trying, I'm really trying and when I say I'm sorry it's because there are no other words created to describe how I feel. Okay, I have to live with the fact that I hurt the one person I…" Lucas took a deep breath, taking a moment to compose him as he realised that he was probably just about to spill his heart out to the person who didn't deserve to hear it.

Rachel could see the guilt written all over his face but when she looked into his eyes, when she looked beneath his seemingly tough exterior, she saw a sadness, a slight desperation causing her to feel a slight sympathy for Lucas. _Maybe I should hear him out after all._ Rachel thought to herself. I mean this couldn't have been easy for him. Sure he'd hurt Brooke but they both needed to stop doing this to each other. They needed to stop tearing holes in one another just to test how much they loved each other. Brooke was hurting, Rachel knew Brooke was, but the boy standing in front of her right now, didn't look any happier.

"Rachel, Brooke and I are meant to be together…" Lucas said, seeing his words were either confusing or annoying Rachel "You were there when I made the shot"

"You're basing all of this on the shot?"

"Yes… no…" Lucas stuttured

"Well, which one is it? Yes or no?" Rachel asked confused by where this was leading.

"Look… the shot just confirmed what I feel in my heart. So I guess I'm not basing it on the shot but… I'm basing it on the way my heart beats a little faster when I see her walk over to me in practice, they way that I can't help but smile when I see her smile and the way in history when she sits two rows in front of me, I can't write one complete sentence without thinking about her. I know to you I'm probably the world's biggest jerk but I love Brooke, I'm _in_ love with her and that's not going to go away not now or ever; no matter how many stupid things we do to each other. It's always going to be there"

Rachel smiled sadly; she knew she was being harsh on him it's just that she didn't want to see her best friend get hurt again. Brooke could pretend she was fearless and shock-proof when it came to guys but Rachel knew better. Rachel was the one who heard her cry herself to sleep the night after Tric when Lucas had basically accused her of carrying Chris Keller II, or on her eighteenth birthday when she'd made the mistake of going down to the mall to meet Peyton and instead she found Lucas and Peyton hanging out together.

"Lucas… she really isn't here but when I see her, I'll tell you came round." Rachel smiled.

Lucas nodded, smiling sadly at Rachel before turning to walk away.

"Lucas wait" Rachel called, taking a deep breath hoping she wouldn't regret sharing this little but the very significant piece of information "She didn't regret it?"

Lucas squinted his eyes slightly; unsure of what Rachel was talking about.

"The kiss, I over heard you talking about it to Haley"

Lucas looked a little uneasy, knowing that Rachel had over heard his entire conversation with Haley.

"Don't worry…" Rachel began, rolling her eyes at Lucas's belief that whatever he had to say was of any serious interest to her "Contrary to popular belief I'm not that great at ease dropping so… you don't have to worry, I didn't hear all of your sordid secrets, but… I know that you thought she regretted it so I just thought you should know… she didn't. She doesn't regret it"

Lucas looked at Rachel, wondering when exactly they had crossed into a parallel universe in which Rachel actually thought Lucas deserved another chance.

"She still loves you Lucas, god knows why… but she still does. Just don't screw up this time. If anything happens to her…" Rachel said, placing her right hand on her hip, clearly being serious.

"I won't screw up. I promise" Lucas nodded, smiling thankfully before turning and walking back down the steps of 'Tree Hill's biggest mansion'.

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It had been exactly three hours and forty-seven minutes, since Lucas had arrived home, taken a shower, had something to eat and pretended to start on some homework. Nathan had been round earlier asking if he wanted to play some ball down at the river court with Skills and the other guys but Lucas had said he'd pass.

"_I've got an essay due tomorrow and if I don't get it done Mr Kendrick's is gonna make sure I don't play next week"_

"_Cool man. I'll see you later then" Nathan said before turning around and jogging back down the steps._

Three hours and forty-five minutes and Lucas had managed to write one paragraph, one measly paragraph which, for all he knew could have been the same sentence written several times. Truthfully, he'd spent the last three hours and forty-five minutes, looking over at his cell. Occasionally getting up to check it wasn't on silent, or if it had mysteriously run out of battery and gone dead. All countless times he'd seen the same thing, _no_ missed calls, _no_ text messages, nothing.

It's not like Brooke hadn't ever ignored him before or failed to call back when she said she would, it was just… something abut the whole day just wasn't right. How panicked and scared Brooke was, why she was so angry at Dan, what Dan was doing in school… everything.

The more and more Lucas thought about it, the more he realised that they had not once, discussed the kiss. Throughout the whole conversation is mind was concentrated on the kiss and trying to relate everything she said back to it, hoping she would give him some indication of how she felt. He had been so wrapped up in what had happened the other night that he hadn't really stopped to listen to what she was saying, what she was trying to tell him.

She was scared, she couldn't tell him something and it had something to do with Dan. Lucas's thoughts were cast back to that night at Dan's house, the night with the writing on the wall. He had tried to ignore all the questions that had arisen that night. Why Dan was shouting at Brooke? Why Brooke was so scared of Dan? And why neither of them would give him an actual explanation as to what the hell it was all about?

Lucas remembered making his way down the stairs, only to see Dan slam the door in front of Brooke preventing her from leaving. Dan had looked genuinely surprised when Lucas pushed him against the wall, demanding to know what he was doing and even though neither he nor Brooke ever answered his question, Lucas couldn't help but think back to what happened after Brooke had left…

_Lucas made his way down the stairs. Although Brooke had been avoiding him all night, he couldn't help but feel happy that she came. That she was here, even though she wasn't taking to him, knowing that she was there, being around her, made him happy. _

_He just hoped Brooke hadn't gotten the wrong idea with Peyton, I mean she'd seen them laughing as they made their way down the stairs, earlier that evening but that wasn't because they were back to playing the happy couple; it was because they'd finally been open and honest about their feelings, well… at least Lucas had and they were finally friends. The way they should have been from the start. As Lucas continued down the stairs, he saw Brooke walking towards the door really quickly. Before Lucas could get the words out to call her he saw; Brooke reach for the door knob, opening the front door followed by Dan who ran up behind her slamming the door shut in front of her._

_What the hell is Dan doing? Lucas thought to himself but before Lucas had time to process the thought his reflex kicked in, as he ran down the stairs towards Dan._

"_You tell me the truth right now, or so help me god…" Dan shouted in Brooke's face._

_Before Brooke even had a second to react to what Dan had just done. Lucas grabbed Dan by his suit, pushing him away from Brooke against the opposite wall. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lucas shouted._

_Dan was completely taken back by Lucas. He clearly hadn't seen him coming; god knows if he had he would have chosen his words more carefully. Dan just looked between Lucas and Brooke not saying a word._

_Lucas continued to look at Dan, his eyes demanding an answer as he didn't, for a second loosen his grip. But Dan didn't say anything, Lucas could here Brooke breathing heavily behind him, before he had the chance to look over and see if she was alright… she was gone._

"_Lucas?" A voice called._

_Both Dan and Lucas turned to see Haley and Karen standing in the hall way._

"_What's going on?" Karen asked_

_Subconsciously Lucas relaxed a little. Dan seized the opportunity to push Lucas off him. _

"_Get off me" Dan said sternly._

"_Luke?" Haley asked, clearly worried_

"_Dan…" Lucas began before being interrupted by Dan_

"_Don't you think we've all had a difficult evening? I think the most mature thing to do would be to put this down to everyone being tired and forget all about it" Dan said_

"_Yeah right, you..." Lucas tried again_

"_It's ok, I've forgotten all about it already and I..." Dan said, straightening out this suit_

"_For god's sake, will you let me speak" Lucas said, clearly getting angry_

"_It's already forgiven" Dan smiled, looking over at Karen_

_Lucas caught this and looked over at Karen hoping she wasn't buying any of this. "Ma…"_

"_Lucas" Karen began walking over to him and placing her hand on his shoulder "It's okay, I think that's enough for today. Dan's right you're tired, he's tired, everyone is tired" Karen said seemingly disappointed with Lucas._

"_Your mother's right" Dan smirked at Lucas, walking over to Karen "She doesn't need any stress, especially in her condition" He said, smiling down at Karen._

_Lucas just rolled his eyes with amazement, how on earth had Dan managed to make him the bad guy. _

"_Come on, I can drive you home" Dan said_

"_Lucas, are you coming?" Karen asked._

_Lucas couldn't hide that he felt slightly betrayed by his mother. I mean, he knew she was tired but the least she could do was hear him out instead of believing Mr. Mayor Scott._

"_No, I'll catch a ride with Nathan and Haley" Lucas replied._

Lucas shook his head, as he remembered that evening and how Dan had manipulated the whole situation without so much as a stutter. Why was Dan shouting at Brooke? Why was she so scared of him? All of these questions without a single answer.

He was missing something. Why was she in the locker room today? She looked surprised to see him? Why would she be surprised? And she was upset, he found her upset. And when Dan came in he wanted to talk to her… what was going on? Where was she? I mean why wasn't she home by now? Lucas was sure that Rachel would have told Brooke that he came round. Whatever was going on, Lucas didn't seem to be the one Brooke was mad at so, why wouldn't she just call him. They didn't have to talk about today if she didn't want to, all he wanted to know was that she was okay.

Lucas couldn't take it anymore, he'd try remaining calm, he'd tried waiting for her to call but something just didn't feel right he had to go, he had to find her.

Lucas stood up quickly, grabbed his keys and headed towards his bedroom door. He opened it, ready to step outside only to see a certain Raven's cheerleader, with one hand in the air, clearly just about to knock on his door.

Lucas stepped back, catching his breath.

"Hi"

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_So there it is, hope you liked the chapter!_

_I will try and update as soon as possible, I'm just approaching exam season and I'm sure you all know what that's like, bear with me guys._


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